WALES

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  what (a) grants and (b) contracts her Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who were previously employed in any capacity by (i) the Conservative party or its elected representatives and (ii) the Liberal Democrat party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(2)  what (a) grants and (b) contracts her Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who previously held an elected position as a member of the (i) Conservative party and (ii) Liberal Democrat party since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(3)  which individuals have been paid by her Department for consultancy or other services who were previously employed in any capacity by the (a) Conservative party or its elected representatives and (b) Liberal Democrat party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(4)  which individuals have been paid by her Department for consultancy or other services who previously held an elected position as a member of the (a) Conservative party and (b) Liberal Democrat party since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised.

David Jones: The Wales Office does not generally undertake direct procurement or tendering projects. It utilises framework contracts between suppliers and other Government bodies.
	As part of this Government's Transparency agenda, since 2010 all contracts over the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder.

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  what the (a) job title and (b) pay band is of each official, excluding special advisers, recruited by her Department since May 2010 who was previously employed in any capacity by the (i) Conservative party or its elected representatives and (ii) Liberal Democrat party or its elected representatives; and whether their position was advertised publicly;
	(2)  what the (a) job title and (b) pay band is of each official, excluding special advisers, recruited by her Department since May 2010 who previously held an elected position as a member of the (i) Conservative party and (ii) Liberal Democrat party; and whether their position was advertised publicly.

David Jones: To collect any such information would involve disproportionate costs.

Consultants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much her Department spent on external consultants, including management consultants, in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if she will make a statement.

David Jones: The Wales Office spent £6,870.85 on consultants in 2010-11, in respect of work that was commissioned in the previous financial year. No payments have been made to consultants in 2011-12.

Risk Assessment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what strategic or transitional risk registers in each area of policy are held by her Department; and if she will make a statement.

David Jones: The Wales Office does not hold risk registers for specific areas of policy.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  how many trade union representatives in her Department had (a) part-time and (b) full-time paid facility time arrangements in 2011-12;
	(2)  how many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative in her Department in 2011-12; and at what cost to the public purse;
	(3)  how many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representatives in her Department for trade union (a) duties and (b) activities in 2011-12.

David Jones: The Wales Office had no trade union representatives working within the department in 2011-12. However, Wales Office staff have access to trade union representatives via the Ministry of Justice.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if she will place in the Library copies of the facility time agreements between trade unions and her Department.

David Jones: The Wales Office does not directly employ staff. The Wales Office adheres to the Ministry of Justice facility time agreements.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many trade union representatives in her Department have faced disciplinary action for abusing paid facility time or public resources in each of the last five years.

David Jones: None.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many meetings have taken place between her Department and trade union representatives utilising paid facility time in each of the last five years to discuss (a) collective bargaining, (b) redundancies, (c) negotiations relating to employment, pay and conditions and (d) other trade union and industrial relations duties; and what the dates and times were of each meeting.

David Jones: None. The Wales Office does not directly employ staff.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions trade union representatives from her Department have utilised paid facility time to represent an employee at a meeting or other industrial relations matter in each of the last five years.

David Jones: None.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) grants and (b) contracts his Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who were previously employed in any capacity by (i) the Conservative Party or its elected representatives and (ii) the Liberal Democrat Party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised.

Owen Paterson: Information regarding the political affiliations of contractors or consultants is not held by my Department, nor is such information held in relation to grant applications.

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) grants and (b) contracts his Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who previously held an elected position as a member of the (i) Conservative Party and (ii) Liberal Democrat Party since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised.

Owen Paterson: Information regarding the political affiliations of contractors or consultants is not held by my Department, nor is such information held in relation to grant applications.

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which individuals have been paid by his Department for consultancy or other services who were previously employed in any capacity by the (a) Conservative Party or its elected representatives and (b) Liberal Democrat Party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised.

Owen Paterson: Information regarding the political affiliations of contractors or consultants is not held by my Department.

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which individuals have been paid by his Department for consultancy or other services who previously held an elected position as a member of the (a) Conservative Party and (b) Liberal Democrat Party since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised.

Owen Paterson: Information regarding the political affiliations of contractors or consultants is not held by my Department.

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the (a) job title and (b) pay band is of each official, excluding special advisers, recruited by his Department since May 2010 who was previously employed in any capacity by the (i) Conservative Party or its elected representatives and (ii) Liberal Democrat Party or its elected representatives; and whether their position was advertised publicly.

Owen Paterson: The Northern Ireland Office follows the Ministry of Justice recruitment procedures and the principle of fair and open competition. We are not aware of any member of staff working for the Department, other than the Special Adviser, who was previously employed by either the Conservative or Liberal Democrat parties.

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the (a) job title and (b) pay band is of each official, excluding special advisers, recruited by his Department since May 2010 who previously held an elected position as a member of the (i) Conservative Party and (ii) Liberal Democrat Party; and whether their position was advertised publicly.

Owen Paterson: The Northern Ireland Office follows the Ministry of Justice recruitment procedures and the principle of fair and open competition. We are not aware of any member of staff working for the Department, other than the Special Adviser, who was previously employed by either the Conservative or Liberal Democrat parties.

Consultants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on external consultants, including management consultants, in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Owen Paterson: During 2010-11 and 2011-12, the total amounts spent by my Department on external consultants, including management consultants, was £347,000 and £75,000 respectively.

Dealing with the Past

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent progress he has made on talks regarding the decade of commemoration in Northern Ireland.

Hugo Swire: Both the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), and I continue to have regular discussions with colleagues in the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government. Most recently on 27 April the Secretary of State and the Tánaiste further discussed plans for the decade of Commemorations. I have also attended a number of commemoration events with my Irish counterparts. NIO officials are also in regular contact with Irish and NI Executive officials about forthcoming events. All these discussions underpin the need to promote tolerance and mutual understanding to ensure that these anniversaries are commemorated with tolerance, dignity and respect for all.

Risk Assessment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what strategic or transitional risk registers in each area of policy are held by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Owen Paterson: The Northern Ireland Office has robust risk management policies at strategic, policy and operation levels that comply with best practice and HM Treasury guidance. At a strategic level, my Department maintains a risk register that includes key risks from each area of policy.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many trade union representatives in (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public body had (i) part-time and (ii) full-time paid facility time arrangements in 2011-12.

Owen Paterson: The Northern Ireland Office has three members of staff who are part-time trade union representatives and who had facility time arrangements in 2011-12.
	My Department has two non-departmental public bodies—the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland. My hon. Friend may wish to write to the Commissions directly on these matters.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative in (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public body in 2011-12; and at what cost to the public purse.

Owen Paterson: Trade union representatives employed by the Northern Ireland Office used approximately four days of facility time during 2011-12. This represented a cost of approximately £282.
	My Department has two non-departmental public bodies—the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland. My hon. Friend may wish to write to the Commissions directly on these matters.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative in (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public body for trade union (i) duties and (ii) activities in 2011-12.

Owen Paterson: Trade union representatives employed by the Northern Ireland Office used approximately four days of facility time during 2011-12 to cover all their trade union duties.
	My Department has two non-departmental public bodies—the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland. My hon. Friend may wish to write to the Commissions directly on these matters.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place in the Library copies of the facility time agreements between trade unions and (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public body.

Owen Paterson: Facility time agreements with trade union representatives in my Department are agreed on an individual basis and are monitored by line managers. It would not, therefore, be appropriate to place such agreements in the Library of the House.
	My Department has two non-departmental public bodies—the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland. My hon. Friend may wish to write to the Commissions directly on these matters.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many trade union representatives in (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public body have faced disciplinary action for abusing paid facility time or public resources in each of the last five years.

Owen Paterson: No trade union representatives in the Northern Ireland Office have faced disciplinary action for abusing paid facility time or public resources in the last five years.
	My Department has two non-departmental public bodies—the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland. My hon. Friend may wish to write to the Commissions directly on these matters.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many meetings have taken place between (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public body and trade union representatives utilising paid facility time in each of the last five years to discuss (i) collective bargaining, (ii) redundancies, (iii) negotiations relating to employment, pay and conditions and (iv) other trade union and industrial relations duties; and what the dates and times were of each meeting.

Owen Paterson: Information is only available for the last 12 months during which period no such meetings have taken place with trade union representatives from the Northern Ireland Office.
	My Department has two non-departmental public bodies—the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland. My hon. Friend may wish to write to these Commissions directly on these matters.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions trade union representatives from (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public body have utilised paid facility time to represent an employee at a meeting or other industrial relations matter in each of the last five years.

Owen Paterson: Information is only available for the last 12 months during which period four members of staff were represented by trade union representatives from the Northern Ireland Office.
	My Department has two non-departmental public bodies—the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland. My hon. Friend may wish to write to the Commissions directly on these matters.

SCOTLAND

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  what (a) grants and (b) contracts his Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who were previously employed in any capacity by (i) the Conservative party or its elected representatives and (ii) the Liberal Democrat party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(2)  what (a) grants and (b) contracts his Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who previously held an elected position as a member of the (i) Conservative party and (ii) Liberal Democrat party since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not award grants. It does not generally undertake direct procurement or tendering projects. It utilises framework contracts between suppliers and other Government bodies. All expenditure is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money.

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  which individuals have been paid by his Department for consultancy or other services who were previously employed in any capacity by the (a) Conservative party or its elected representatives and (b) Liberal Democrat party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(2)  which individuals have been paid by his Department for consultancy or other services who previously held an elected position as a member of the (a) Conservative party and (b) Liberal Democrat party since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not generally undertake direct procurement or tendering projects. It utilises framework contracts between suppliers and other Government bodies. All expenditure is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money.

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  what the (a) job title and (b) pay band is of each official, excluding special advisers, recruited by his Department since May 2010 who was previously employed in any capacity by the (i) Conservative party or its elected representatives and (ii) Liberal Democrat party or its elected representatives; and whether their position was advertised publicly;
	(2)  what the (a) job title and (b) pay band was of each official, excluding special advisers, recruited by his Department since May 2010 who previously held an elected position as a member of the (i) Conservative party and (ii) Liberal Democrat party; and whether their position was advertised publicly.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ and recruit staff directly.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Consultants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Law Officers' Departments spent on external consultants, including management consultants, in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Garnier: The information requested is contained in the following table.
	
		
			 Expenditure on external consultants by the Law Officers Departments 
			 £ 
			  2010-11 2011-12 (1) 
			 Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol)(2) 9,000 43,000 
			 Serious Fraud Office (3)1,583,000 856,000 
			 Crown Prosecution Service(4) 684,314 12,000 
			 (1) The data provided for 2010-11 may be subject to minor adjustment following the audit of departmental resource accounts for 2011-12. (2) The TSol data also covers the Attorney-General's Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate. (3) The SFO figure for 2010-11 includes £23,000 of consultancy costs for the National Fraud Authority (NFA). Ministerial responsibility for the NFA was transferred to the Home Office On April 2011. (4) The CPS data relates to expenditure on pure consultancy services as defined by the Office of Government Commerce's Consultancy Value Programme.

Risk Assessment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General what strategic or transitional risk registers in each area of policy are held by the Law Officers' Departments; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Garnier: The Law Officers' Departments do not hold strategic risk registers in areas of policy. Each of the Law Officers' Departments does, however, hold a strategic or corporate risk register related to its business, including operational and, where appropriate, policy delivery. The Crown Prosecution Service also currently holds a transitional risk register for the policy relating to Transforming Through Technology (T3).

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Attorney-General 
	(1)  how many trade union representatives in the Law Officers' Departments had (a) part-time and (b) full-time paid facility time arrangements in 2011-12;
	(2)  how many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative in the Law Officers' Departments in 2011-12; and at what cost to the public purse;
	(3)  how many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative in the Law Officers' Departments for trade union (a) duties and (b) activities in 2011-12.

Edward Garnier: The numbers of trade union representatives on paid facility time arrangements in the Law Officers' Departments during 2011-12 are detailed in the following table:
	
		
			 Department Part-time Full-time 
			 Serious Fraud Office (SFO) 7 0 
			 Attorney General's Office 0 0 
			 Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol) 8 0 
			 HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) 3 0 
		
	
	The SFO records indicate that 54 facility days were recorded by trade union representatives for 2011-12 at a cost of £8,100.
	HMCPSI does not maintain any central records about days utilised by trade union representatives or the associated costs but estimate that each representative, would spend no more than five days on union related activities in each year.
	In 2011-12 TSol allocated 292 days to the union representatives from the PCS union at a cost of £49,747 and 150 days to union representatives from the FDA union at a cost of £53,810. In both cases no central record is held of the number of days actually utilised. In addition, one hour's facility time was allowed for each member to attend the respective unions Annual General Meeting; no central record is held of the numbers who attended these meetings.
	Data relating to staff numbers, facility time and costs for trade union representatives in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for the year 2011-12 are currently being collected and are expected to be available by the end of June. I will provide this information to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.
	No central record is kept by the Law Officers' Departments on the breakdown between trade union duties and activities, and such information could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Attorney-General if he will place in the Library copies of the facility time agreements between trade unions and the Law Officers' Departments.

Edward Garnier: Copies of the facilities agreements arranged with trade unions by the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud office and The Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol) have been placed in the Library of the House. HMCPSI do not have any agreements with trade unions regarding facility time arrangements.
	The Attorney-General's Office follows the arrangements agreed by Tsol.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Attorney-General how many trade union representatives in the Law Officers' Departments have faced disciplinary action for abusing paid facility time or public resources in each of the last five years.

Edward Garnier: None.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Attorney-General how many meetings have taken place between the Law Officers' Departments and trade union representatives utilising paid facility time in each of the last five years to discuss (a) collective bargaining, (b) redundancies, (c) negotiations relating to employment, pay and conditions and (d) other trade union and industrial relations duties; and what the dates and times were of each meeting.

Edward Garnier: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) holds a number of meetings each year with trade union representatives to discuss a wide variety of issues. These meetings take place at departmental and local level, and as such the CPS does not retain a central record of all meetings held.
	The Serious Fraud Office does not record the exact number of meetings between officials and union representatives held during this period or the topics discussed, but can confirm that SFO officials have been meeting with trade union representatives on a monthly basis since 2009.
	HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) has a Whitley Council which meets quarterly and is attended by union representatives. Other HMCPSI negotiations with unions are normally undertaken by the Treasury Solicitors Department (TSol) with input from HMCPSI.
	TSol has a partnership agreement with the FDA and Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), formally signed in 2003 and reviewed in 2007. This agreement is facilitated by formal partnership meetings between the unions and senior business managers when issues, including the partnership agreement, are discussed and resolved. These meetings cover collective bargaining, redundancies and other trade union and industrial relations duties. In addition, since 2009, TSol has held an informal partnership meeting each month to discuss items for the agenda for the formal meeting and to decide if a formal meeting is required. Separate meetings are held to negotiate pay and conditions.
	The dates and times of meetings held are as follows:
	
		
			  Formal partnership meetings Informal partnership meetings Pay meetings 
			 2007 11 January: 11:00  24 May: 10:00 
			  13 February: 11:00  7 June: 10:00 
		
	
	
		
			  13 March: 11:00  12 June: 14:00 
			  16 April: 11:00  28 June: 14:00 
			  21 May: 11:00  19 July: 14:00 
			  14 June: 11:00  24 July: 14:00 
			  23 July: 11:00  22 October: 11:00 
			  9 August: 11:00  12 November: 15:00 
			  6 September: 11:00  10 December: 10:00 
			  11 October: 13:00   
			  112 November: 11:00   
			  20 December: 9:00   
			     
			 2008 13 March: 11:00  8 January: 14:00 
			  1 May: 11:00  21 January: 10:30 
			  12 June: 13:00  15 February: 11:00 
			  3 July: 11:00  18 March: 14:00 
			  7 August: 11:00  27 June: 11:00 
			  9 October: 11:00  10 July: 14:00 
			  11 November: 10:30  16 July: 10:00 
			    25 July: 10:00 
			    29 July: 10:00 
			    5 August: 10:00 
			    21 August: 9:30 
			     
			 2009 12 February: 11:00 2 April: 13:30 22 April: 14:00 
			  12 March: 11:00 1 May: 10:30 8 May: 10:30 
			  16 April: 11:00 2 June: 11:00 17 June: 11:00 
			  15 May: 15:00 3 July: 11:00 29 June: 11:00 
			  11 June: 13:30 3 August: 11:00 14 August: 10:00 
			  17 July: 10:30 3 September: 11:00 9 September: 14:00 
			  17 September: 11:00 30 October: 11:00  
			  15 October: 11:00 27 November: 11:00  
			  13 November: 11:00   
			  11 December: 11:00   
			     
			 2010 20 January: 10:30 13 January: 11:00 1 March: 14.00 
			  19 February: 14:15 4 March: 13:00 26 April: 11:00 
			  18 March: 15:00 13 April: 10:30 4 May: 11:00 
			  19 April: 15:00 14 May: 15:00 13 May: 15:00 
			  8 June:10:00 16 August: 15:00 25 May: 14:00 
			  21 July: 14:00 20 September: 15:00 30 June: 11:30 
			  29 September: 12:00 18 October: 16:00 22 July: 11:00 
			  27 October: 14:00 15 November: 15:00  
			  24 November: 14:00 14 December: 10:30  
			     
			 2011 19 January: 14:00 6 January: 15:00 6 May: 10:00 
			  16 February: 14:00 2 February: 14:00 24 June: 10:00 
			  16 March: 14:00 2 March: 14:00  
			  19 April: 14:00 6 April: 14:00  
			  17 May: 14:00 4 May: 14:00  
			  15 June:14:00 7 June:15:30  
			  18 October: 14:00 6 July: 14:00  
			   3 August: 14:00  
			   7 September: 14:00  
			   5 October: 14:00  
		
	
	
		
			   2 November: 14:00  
			   5 December: 12:00  
		
	
	In addition other meetings are held ad hoc as required to cover particular issues which arise (e.g. flexible working, TSol strategy etc). No central record is held of the dates and times of these meetings.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions trade union representatives from the Law Officers' Departments have utilised paid facility time to represent an employee at a meeting or other industrial relations matter in each of the last five years.

Edward Garnier: None of the Law Officers Departments keep a central record of the number of occasions where trade union representatives have represented employees at meetings or in other industrial relations matters as part of their paid facility time. Such information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

JUSTICE

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will initiate a review of the role of the Criminal Cases Review Commission; and whether its remit has recently been changed.

Crispin Blunt: All non-departmental public bodies are now subject to Triennial review. The Commission will be the subject of a Triennial review in the autumn. Its remit has not recently changed.

Crown Prosecution Service

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  with reference to the First Special Report from the Justice Committee, Joint Enterprise: Government's Response to the Committee's Eleventh Report of Session 2010-12, HC 1663, whether the Crown Prosecution Service has completed its consultation with his Department on the best way forward for collating statistics around cases involving joint enterprise;
	(2)  with reference to the written evidence of the Director of Public Prosecutions to the Justice Select Committee on Joint Enterprise, when he expects the Crown Prosecution Service to publish new guidelines for prosecutors handling joint enterprise cases.

Jonathan Djanogly: Officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney-General's Office are in discussion with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on the practicalities of collating data on joint enterprise cases. Work on guidance for prosecutors on handling these cases is also ongoing. We will provide Parliament with a further update in due course.

Mesothelioma: Compensation

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the format will be of the review of the effect that sectors 43 and 45 of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 would have on mesothelioma cases;
	(2)  what factors will be taken into account in the review of the likely effect of sections 43 and 45 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 on mesothelioma cases;
	(3)  when he expects to (a) commence and (b) publish the report on the review of the effect of sections 43 and 45 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 on mesothelioma cases.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 received Royal Assent on 1 May 2012. The Government has already announced that the provisions in part 2 relating to civil litigation funding and costs will come into force in April 2013. However, the provisions in relation to sections 44 and 46 (recoverable success fees and insurance premiums) will not come into effect in relation to mesothelioma claims until a review has been undertaken and published in accordance with section 48. The review is not due to begin for some time, and the Government will consider in due course how best to conduct it.

Pay

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many of his Department's officials located in Wales are (a) paid according to local market rates and (b) not paid according to local market rates but would be affected by proposals for local-facing pay.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice is currently in the second year of the public sector pay freeze having entered the freeze in 2011. Plans to move to more market facing pay structures, which are being considered as part of wider reaching proposals for pay reform within the Ministry and its executive agencies, are therefore still a work in progress with the first stages of implementation scheduled for summer 2013 once the Department exits the pay freeze. The full impact for existing staff will be assessed in due course as a key stage of finalising pay structures for 2013 and beyond.

Powers of Attorney

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications for local powers of attorney were dealt with by the Office of the Public Guardian within (a) 30 days, (b) 60 days, (c) 90 days and (d) more than 90 days in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jonathan Djanogly: The answer given is based on registration times for lasting powers of attorney (LPA). The latest period for which full figures are available is the last financial year from April 2011 to January 2012.
	The OPG's IT systems do not specifically report on the periods requested, the closest to the requested timescales for which the system generates information is for registrations within 35 working days, within 60 working days and over 61 working days.
	In total during this period the OPG dealt with 148,059 LPA's of which 196 were cleared within 35 working days, 79,250 were cleared within 60 working days and 65,405 were cleared in over 61 working days. A further 3,685 LPA's remain to be despatched of which 1,840 remain pending due to issues that still require resolution by the registering party.
	These data have also been provided split by quarterly periods and is provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Latest LPA processing times available April 2011 to January 2012 
			  Total Percentage 
			 Quarter1 :   
			 1 April 2011 to 30 June 2011   
			 Total being dealt with 44,167 — 
			 Imperfect, Fee Issue 810 — 
			 Net Received 43,366 — 
			    
			 Cleared in 35 days and below 35 0.16 
			 Cleared in 60 days and below 21,540 49.67 
			 61 working days and over 21,755 50.16 
			 Not yet dispatched 858 — 
			    
			 Quarter 2:   
			 1 July 2011 to 30 September 2011   
			 Total being dealt with 49,463 — 
			 Imperfect, Fee Issue 1,047 — 
			 Net Received 48,416 — 
			    
			 Cleared in 35 days and below 73 0.15 
			 Cleared in 60 days and below 14,578 30.10 
			 61 working days and over 33,356 68.89 
			 Not yet dispatched 1,504 — 
			    
			 Quarter 3:   
			 1 October 2011 to 31 December 2011   
			 Total being dealt with 43,963 — 
			 Imperfect, Fee Issue 2,484 — 
			 Net Received 41,479 — 
			    
			 Cleared in 35 days and below 61 0.14 
			 Cleared in 60 days and below 31,767 76.58 
			 61 working days and over 8,710 20.99 
			 Not yet dispatched 3,384 — 
			    
			 Quarter 4:   
			 1 January 2012 to 31 January 2012   
			 Total being dealt with 16,638 — 
			 Imperfect, Fee Issue 1,840 — 
			 Net Received 14,798 — 
			    
			 Cleared in 35 days and below 27 0.18 
			 Cleared in 60 days and below 11,365 76.80 
			 61 working days and over 1,584 10.70 
			 Not yet dispatched 3,685 — 
			 Notes: 1. Total being dealt with: shows the total amount of LPA's received in quarter plus those carried over from previous quarter. 2. Imperfect, Fee issue: shows the number of LPA's carried over from previous quarter that are not yet registered to being imperfect or a fee issue. Note that this is a rolling figure. Therefore Q4 shows the latest figure. 3. Net Received: shows the total LPA's received in quarter. 4. Not yet dispatched: is a rolling figure, therefore Q4 shows the latest figure.

Prisoners: Pay

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to pages five and six of the report of HM Chief Inspector of Prisons on HMP Standford Hill on the Isle of Sheppey, what steps he plans to take in respect of concerns raised about levies deducted under the Prisoners' Earnings Act 1996 and their effect on prisoners travelling to work.

Crispin Blunt: The Prisoners' Earnings Act (PEA) 1996 was brought into force on 26 September 2011. It enables prison governors to impose a levy of up to and including 40% on the wages of low-risk prisoners who work outside of prison on temporary licence, in order to prepare for their eventual release. In accordance with the statutory provisions the money goes to Victim Support to enable them to provide direct, practical, paid for services for victims.
	The Chief Inspector of Prisons recommended (in his report of his inspection of Standford Hill in December last year) that governors should have greater discretion to authorise the deduction of legitimate travel expenses from the net weekly earnings figure used for calculating the levy due under the PEA.
	Under the PEA governors have always had discretion to take into account individual prisoners circumstances when setting the levy in individual cases and a revised Prison Service Instruction was issued at the end of December 2011 (after the inspection of Standford Hill) which provides farther clarification on the implementation of the Act. This recommends that governors consider applications for exemptions or reductions reflecting travel costs where these are substantial in proportion to earnings. Decisions in individual cases will remain a matter for Governors.

Telephone Services

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many call centres provide services for his Department and the bodies for which he is responsible; and how many such call centres are based abroad.

Jonathan Djanogly: Nine call centres provide services for the Ministry of Justice; none of these are based abroad.

Victim Costs

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost impact for victims of each type of offence committed.

Nick Herbert: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	The Home Office's Online Report 30/05 contains estimates of victim costs associated with a range of offence types for 2003. These can be found in Table 2.1 placed in the House Library.
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk

PRIME MINISTER

Rebekah Brooks

David Winnick: To ask the Prime Minister whether he was aware at the time that on 13 December 2010 Rebekah Brooks had discussed with the Chancellor of the Exchequer News Corporation's bid for BSkyB.

David Cameron: I had no role in the BSkyB takeover nor did I seek to influence the decision.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Housing: Self-Build

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will provide a breakdown of the average £150,000 cost of a self-build home by (a) land and (b) building cost.

Grant Shapps: According to the National Self Build Association the majority of self-builders spend between £100,000 and £150,000 building their own home. For example, Fairgrove Homes are currently selling plots in Nottinghamshire to self builders for £40,000 and will build a good sized three bed home for a further £90,000. At Ashley Vale in Bristol the community built their homes for less than £150,000 each, including land and all building costs.
	It is not however possible to provide a breakdown of the average cost of a self-build home, including land, given the wide variation in cost across the country and the range of build routes which a self builder can follow to build their home.
	Further details of indicative building costs across the country, with and without land costs, are set out on the self build portal
	www.selfbuildportal.org.uk
	which is run by the self-build industry and offers a range of advice to aspiring self-builders.

Planning Policy

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the annexes and companion guides to planning policies revoked by the National Planning Policy Framework are also revoked.

Greg Clark: The National Planning Policy Framework includes a list of the 44 policy documents which it replaces, and which have now been revoked. Annexes to the policy documents listed have also been revoked.
	This Government inherited in addition some 6,000 pages of underpinning planning guidance, and is now embarking on a new exercise to consider what underpinning guidance continues to be needed, involving practitioners and other interested parties.
	As recommended by the Communities and Local Government Select Committee, current underpinning guidance remains in place pending the outcome of this exercise, and where relevant can still be used. This includes companion guides, and also Annex E to the previously revoked Planning Policy Guidance note 7 which was retained as a freestanding guidance document (on permitted development rights for agriculture and forestry) when Planning Policy Statement 7 was introduced in 2004.

Social Rented Housing

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  if he will estimate the proportion of social housing in London that is occupied by foreign nationals;
	(2)  if he will make compulsory the inclusion of a question on nationality for all applications for social housing;
	(3)  what steps he is taking to ensure the official records of new lets of social housing record accurately the nationality of new tenants.

Grant Shapps: holding answer 14 May 2012
	The information is as follows:
	Allocation of social housing
	Foreign nationals are eligible for an allocation of social housing if:
	in the case of European economic area nationals, they have a relevant right to reside, for example, if they are working, self-sufficient, or have a permanent right of residence in the UK (after five years lawful residence in the UK),
	in the case of other foreign nationals, they have been granted leave to enter or remain in the UK with recourse to public funds (for example, people granted refugee status or humanitarian protection).
	Where foreign nationals are eligible, they would have their housing needs considered on the same basis as other applicants in accordance with the local authority's allocation scheme.
	Estimates of allocations to foreign nationals
	Based on data from the English Housing Survey data for 2009-10, it is estimated that around 20% of ‘household reference persons’ (the modern definition for ‘head’ of household) in the social rented sector in London did not identify themselves as British or Irish in the survey; there is uncertainty around the precise figure due to sampling effects. Figures for 2008-09 present a similar picture.
	Coalition Government reforms
	Such estimates provide a strong argument for the coalition Government's reforms to give councils greater powers and flexibilities over the allocation of social housing, so greater weight can be given both to those with local connections and to current and former members of the armed forces.
	Through the Localism Act we have given back to councils the freedom to manage their own waiting lists. They will be able to decide who should qualify for social housing in their area, and to develop solutions which make best use of limited social housing stock.
	Current and former members of our armed forces are one group who have previously lost out in the social housing system, because moving from base to base and living abroad leaves them without strong local connections. We are proposing to amend the law such that former personnel with urgent housing needs are always given high priority on waiting lists, and that personnel who move from base to base do not lose their qualification rights. We are also proposing statutory guidance to councils which sets out how their allocation schemes can give priority to current or ex-service personnel, including through the use of local preference criteria and local lettings policies.
	Recording of social housing allocations
	The Continuous Recording of Lettings and Sales (CORE) collects data on new social lettings and tenants rather than applicants, including information on the nationality of the household reference person. The Department is continuing to work with social housing providers to improve the quality of the CORE data, especially local authorities.
	In particular, London lettings data is less complete, with 75% of London local authority general needs lettings containing nationality information in 2010-11 (around 19% were marked 'refused' and 6% were missing). As an initial step, I am writing to a number of local authorities on this issue. While mindful of the need to reduce unnecessary data reporting burdens on local authorities, I recognise there is a strong public interest in this particular information.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many meetings have taken place between (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies and trade union representatives utilising paid facility time in each of the last five years to discuss (i) collective bargaining, (ii) redundancies, (iii) negotiations relating to employment, pay and conditions and (iv) other trade union and industrial relations duties; and what the dates and times were of each meeting.

Bob Neill: Apart from the Valuation Tribunal Service and the Homes and Communities Agency, the Department for Communities and Local Government and its other non-departmental bodies do not hold this information centrally. The following tables show details for the Valuation Tribunal Service and the Homes and Communities Agency. The staff costs involved to obtain this information would be disproportionate to the information required.
	
		
			 Valuation Tribunal Service 
			  Number Date 
			 Collective bargaining 19 22 February 2007 
			   9 May 2007 
			   11 July 2007 
			   24 April 2008 
			   3 July 2008 
			   16 September 2008 
			   24 April 2009 
			   9 June 2009 
			   9 October 2009 
			   1 December 2009 
			   4 February 2010 
			   24 June 2010 
			   20 July 2010 
			   9 September 2010, 
			   1 December 2010 
			   28 January 2011 
		
	
	
		
			   11 March 2011 
			   16 June 2011 
			   6 December 2011 
			    
			 Redundancies 9 22 February 2007 
			   9 May 2007 
			   11 July 2007 
			   24 April 2008 
			   3 July 2008 
			   24 April 2009 
			   20 July 2010 
			   28 January 2011 
			   11 March 2011 
			    
			 Negotiations relating to employment, pay and conditions 19 22 February 2007 
			   9 May 2007 
			   11 July 2007 
			   24 April 2008 
			   3 July 2008 
			   16 September 2008 
			   24 April 2009 
			   9 June 2009 
			   9 October 2009 
			   1 December 2009, 
			   4 February 2010 
			   24 June 2010 
			   20 July 2010 
			   9 September 2010 
			   1 December 2010 
			   28 January 2011 
			   11 March 2011 
			   16 June 2011 
			   6 December 2011 
			    
			 Other trade union and industrial relations matters/duties 1 9 August 2011 
		
	
	The Homes and Communities Agency
	The Homes and Communities Agency was established in December 2008. In 2009 there were 14 Joint Negotiation and Consultation Committee meetings that took place. In 2010 there were 11 Joint Negotiation and Consultation Committee meetings took place. In 2011 there were 16 Joint Negotiation and Consultation Committee meetings. So far in 2012 there have been six Joint Negotiation and Consultation Committee meetings that have taken place. These figures are based on calendar years. Dates and times of these are as follows. The number of Joint Negotiation and Consultation Committees since the establishment of the Homes and Communities Agency reflects the change programmes that the agency has had to undertake and a large number of these have been to discuss restructuring exercises and to consult in relation to Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment).
	
		
			 Date Time 
			 19 January 2009 12.00-14.00 
			 20 February 2009 12.30-14.30 
			 20 March 2009 11.00-13.00 
			 1 April 2009 14.00-15.00 
			 9 April 2009 11.00-13.00 
			 21 April 2009 11.00-13.00 
			 27 April 2009 11.00-13.00 
			 22 May 2009 11.45-13.45 
			 1 July 2009 11.00-13.00 
			 21 July 2009 14.00-17.00 
			 27 August 2009 11.30-13.30 
			 21 September 2009 11.00-13.00 
			 20 October 2009 14.00-17.00 
			 17 December 2009 14.00-16.00 
		
	
	
		
			 Date Time 
			 18 January 2010 14.00-16.00 
			 23 February 2010 12.30-14.00 
			 23 March 2010 12.00-14.00 
			 20 May 2010 12.00-14.00 
			 8 June 2010 10.00-11.00 
			 2 July 2010 12.30-14.30 
			 22 July 2010 12.15-14.15 
			 8 September 2010 15.00-17.00 
			 22 September 2010 14.00-16.00 
			 25 October 2010 15.00-17.00 
			 18 November 2010 14.00-16.00 
		
	
	
		
			 Date Time 
			 19 January 2011 11.00-13.00 
			 16 February 2011 11.00-14.00 
			 10 March 2011 10.30-13.30 
			 21 March 2011 12.30-14.30 
			 30 March 2011 13.30-14.30 
			 5 April 2011 11.00-14.00 
			 13 April 2011 12.00-13.30 
			 19 April 2011 11.30-14.30 
			 11 May 2011 11.00-14.00 
			 24 May 2011 13.30-17.00 
			 22 June 2011 13.00-18.00 
			 4 July 2011 12.30-14.30 
			 5 September 2011 12.30-14.30 
			 28 September 2011 15.30-17.00 
			 3 November 2011 12.30-14.30 
			 15 December 2011 13.00-14.15 
		
	
	
		
			 Date Time 
			 23 January 2012 12.00-14.00 
			 31 January 2012 17.00-18.30 
			 1 February 2012 12.00-13.15 
			 21 February 2012 13.00-14.30 
			 1 March 2012 16.00-17.30 
			 22 March 2012 15.00-17.00

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcohol Education

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on alcohol awareness and education in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The following table shows Home Office advertising spend on alcohol awareness campaigns in each of the last five financial years.
	
		
			  Spend (£) 
			 2007-08 2,900,411 
			 2008-09 3,185,032 
			 2009-10 1,934,891 
			 2010-11 0 
			 2011-12 0 
			 Total 8,020,334

Arrests: Children

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 26 April 2012, Official Report, column 965W, on arrests: children, how many girls aged 10 to 17 were arrested by each division of South Wales police in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: Available information relates to females aged 10 to 17 arrested by South Wales police between 2007-08 and 2010-11, and is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Females aged 10 to 17 arrested for notifiable offences: South Wales police force area, 2007-08 to 2010-11 
			  Number 
			 2007-08 1,225 
			 2008-09 1,020 
			 2009-10 1,256 
			 2010-11 896 
		
	
	Information for police divisions cannot be provided as arrests data submitted to the Home Office are at police force area level only.

Association of Chief Police Officers

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what auditing procedures her Department has put in place for funding it has allocated to the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Nick Herbert: The Home Office provides an annual grant in aid payment to the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). Further funding for a number of specific projects and key initiatives is strictly allocated. As a registered company, ACPO's accounts are subject to audit, which also covers whether funds have been used for the purposes intended.

Association of Chief Police Officers

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the Association of Chief Police Officers on the future of the Association.

Nick Herbert: The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) is not owned or controlled by the Home Office. It is therefore a matter for ACPO itself to determine its future. However, I continue to work constructively with ACPO officers on the important changes that the Government is making to deliver reforms in policing. This includes the creation of a new police professional body, which will be established by December 2012 to further develop professionalism and leadership in policing.

Association of Chief Police Officers

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance her Department has issued to the Association of Chief Police Officers on the recruitment of external consultants and their remuneration.

Nick Herbert: The Home Office has not issued any guidance to the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) on the recruitment of external consultants and their remuneration. ACPO is not owned or controlled by the Home Office.

Association of Chief Police Officers

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what processes her Department has put in place to monitor the activities of distinct but affiliated companies to the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Nick Herbert: The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) is not owned or controlled by the Home Office. As such, the Home Office does not monitor the activities of ACPO's affiliated companies. You may wish to seek any further information directly from ACPO, which came under the Freedom of Information Act on 1 November 2011.

Asylum

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on asylum seekers awaiting an immigration decision in (a) 1996-97, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11 and (d) 2011-12.

Damian Green: Due to the passing of time and changes in financial recording systems, it is not possible to identify the expenditure on supporting asylum seekers in 1996-97 without incurring disproportionate costs.
	The UK Border Agency has spent the following amounts on providing accommodation, transport and subsistence for all asylum-seekers:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2009-10 372.9 
			 2010-11 304.5 
			 2011-12 (1)240.2 
			 (1) This figure is provisional and unaudited. 
		
	
	Because of the way the information is recorded, it is not possible to identify separately the expenditure on asylum seekers awaiting immigration decisions without incurring disproportionate costs.

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) grants and (b) contracts her Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who were previously employed in any capacity by (i) the Conservative party or its elected representatives and (ii) the Liberal Democrat party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised.

Damian Green: The Home Office does not record the previous employment history of individuals who run companies or organisations which are awarded grants and contracts. To provide information regarding grants and contracts awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who were previously employed in any capacity by either the Conservative party or the Liberal Democrat party or their elected representatives since May 2010, would incur disproportionate cost.

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) grants and (b) contracts her Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who previously held an elected position as a member of the (i) Conservative party and (ii) Liberal Democrat party since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised.

Damian Green: The Home Office does not record the previous employment history of individuals who run companies or organisations which are awarded grants and contracts. To provide information regarding grants and contracts awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who previously held an elected position as a member of either the Conservative party or the Liberal Democrat party or their elected representatives since May 2010, would incur disproportionate cost.

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which individuals have been paid by her Department for consultancy or other services who previously held an elected position as a member of the (a) Conservative party and (b) Liberal Democrat party since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised.

Damian Green: The Home Department does not record the previous employment history of individuals who have been paid by the Department for consultancy or other services.
	To provide information about individuals who have been paid by the Department and who previously held an elected position as a member of either the Conservative party or the Liberal Democrat party since May 2010, would incur disproportionate cost.

Consultants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on external consultants, including management consultants, in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: Consultancy expenditure incurred by the Home Department and its agencies for (a) 2010-11 was £60.8 million and (b) 2011-12 was £33.3 million. Expenditure on consultancy is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Crime Prevention

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she has taken since the ending of the community crime fighters programme to enhance community crime fighting.

James Brokenshire: The Government is keen to support and stimulate community-led approaches to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour; enabling them to take the lead and drive innovative solutions to locally identified priorities.
	As part of the localism agenda the Home Office has moved away from direct involvement, and has sought to encourage a range of activities to enhance community crime fighting at a local level. We continue to work with a variety of voluntary sector organisations, supporting their work within communities to identify concerns and reduce crime.
	The Community Action Against Crime Innovation Fund, worth £10 million over two years, was launched in September 2011. The fund is available to voluntary and community groups to find creative and locally designed solutions that help make their neighbourhoods safe. All 268 projects have now received funding and are working towards cutting crime in their areas.
	The introduction of police and crime commissioners in November 2012 will also provide the public with the opportunity to hold the police to account and raise local concerns.

Databases: Telecommunications

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has made an assessment of the possible effect on competition in the internet service provider market of the Communications Capabilities Development Programme.

James Brokenshire: The draft Communications Bill and related documents, including an impact assessment, will be presented to Parliament in due course.

Drugs: Misuse

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in each of the last five years the Europol National Unit or its representative in the Reitox network has provided information on the manufacture, trafficking and use of new psychoactive substances to Europol and the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction pursuant to Article 4 of EU Council Decision 2005/387/JHA.

James Brokenshire: The information requested is not collated centrally by the Europol National Unit (which is based in the Serious Organised Crime Agency).
	Between 2007 and 2011, the Reitox network's Focal Point for the United Kingdom, which is based in the Department of Health, formally notified 37 New Psychoactive Substances to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). The EMCDDA's annual implementation report lists the New Psychoactive Substances notified that year, and the countries identifying them at:
	http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/searchresults? action=list&type=PUBLICATIONS&SERIES_PUB=a104

Entry Clearances

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what comprises the fit and proper test for the granting of an investment visa.

Damian Green: holding answer 14 May 2012
	The Tier 1 (Investor) category is for high-net-worth individuals who want to make a substantial financial investment in the UK. To be granted a visa an applicant must score 75 points for attributes as set out in the Immigration Rules.
	There is no "fit and proper" test specific to Tier 1 applications. However applicants should not be subject for refusal under paragraph 320 of the Immigration Rules. Under paragraph 320(19) of the Immigration Rules, leave to enter will normally be refused where, from information available to the immigration officer, it seems right to refuse leave to enter on the ground that exclusion from the United Kingdom is conducive to the public good; if, for example, in the light of the character, conduct or associations of the person seeking leave to enter it is undesirable to give him leave to enter.
	When considering this provision, an entry clearance officer will assess an application on its merits and make a decision based on the evidence submitted.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of visa applications have been delayed as a result of the UK Border Agency's prioritisation of student visa expirations.

Damian Green: I can confirm that from 27 February 2012, 59 staff have been deployed to clear notifications we had received from both students and sponsors under Tier 4 of the points based system. These staff would otherwise have been working on a range of activities, including casework. It is not possible to quantify the impact on application processing times of completing this work.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sponsor licences were granted by the UK Border Agency in each of the last 12 months.

Damian Green: The number of sponsor licence applications granted in each of the last 12 months is provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Sponsor licences granted Total 
			 2011  
			 May 401 
			 June 380 
			 July 410 
			 August 474 
			 September 453 
			 October 419 
			 November 447 
			 December 355 
		
	
	
		
			 2012  
			 January 303 
			 February 295 
			 March 152 
			 April 50 
			 Total 4,139

Essex Police Authority

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by Essex Police Authority on (a) office accommodation, (b) staff costs, (c) travel and subsistence and (d) staff bonuses in each of the last five years.

Nick Herbert: The Home Office does not hold this information; however, Essex police authority publishes its annual statement of accounts on its website.

European Convention on Human Rights

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to bring forward proposals to amend the Immigration Rules to prevent abuse of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Damian Green: The Government is considering responses to the public consultation on changes to the Family migration rules carried out last year, and expects to announce the results shortly. This will include changes relating to Article 8.

Human Trafficking

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when officials in her Department last discussed with (a) their Finnish counterparts and (b) the Finnish Ombudsman for Minorities the effects of the Independent National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings on the Finnish government's human trafficking policies.

Damian Green: holding answer 14 May 2012
	Discussions take place regularly at official level on a regular basis between the United Kingdom and other EU member states to exchange national experiences, develop best practice and co-ordinate efforts across Europe.

Human Trafficking: Children

Gordon Birtwistle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to prevent further incidences of child trafficking.

Damian Green: The Government published its Human Trafficking Strategy in July 2011, which sets out a targeted and more comprehensive approach to trafficking by improving identification and care of victims and combating those responsible for this terrible crime.
	The Home Office has enhanced its ability to act early upstream and is working with partners to raise awareness abroad of the risks of child trafficking. A key theme of the strategy is smarter multi-agency working at the border and the Department will look to work with partners to build on the success of child safeguarding multi-agency teams such as Operation Paladin and Newbridge.

Identity and Passport Service

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many posts have been (a) advertised and (b) filled in each of the Identity and Passport Service's main application centres since May 2011.

Damian Green: Since May 2011, the Identity and Passport Service has placed adverts for 482 vacancies in total; to date 144 of these posts have been filled. These vacancies are in the main, due to attrition and not the creation of new posts.
	It is not possible to provide information on specific application centres without incurring disproportionate costs.

Immigration

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to Human rights and democracy: the 2011 Foreign and Commonwealth report, CM. 8339, what plans she has to change the immigration rules.

Damian Green: holding answer 14 May 2012
	There are no plans to amend the Immigration Rules following the publication of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office report on Human rights and democracy. The power to refuse entry to those who have committed human rights abuses is already contained in the Immigration Rules. Where there is credible, independent and reliable evidence against such an individual, then they will not normally be permitted to enter the United Kingdom.

Immigration Controls

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the passports presented to UK Border Agency staff at desks designated for UK and EU passport holders were from UK passport holders in the latest period for which figures are available.

Damian Green: There are no published national statistics relating to UK passports presented at the Primary Control point.

Immigration Controls

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many forged EU passports were detected by the UK Border Agency in the last year for which figures are available; and what proportion of these were passports issued by the Identity and Passport Service.

Damian Green: In 2011, 1,533 forged European travel documents, including national passports and identity cards, were identified at the border by the UK Border Agency. Of those, 701 were passports of which 163 were issued by UK agencies. 144 of these documents were UK passports, with the balance being Home Office travel documents.
	These figures do not include the number of inadequately documented passengers denied boarding by commercial carriers' overseas, who work in conjunction with UK Border Agency immigration liaison officers and managers. Since 2004, the number of immigration liaison officer deployments to key travel hubs has more than doubled resulting in significant numbers of passengers being stopped with false documents before they travel to the UK.

Immigration Controls: Ports

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the application of immigration law to non-European Economic Area seafarers working on one-port voyages in (a) UK territorial waters and (b) the UK Continental Shelf.

Damian Green: Home Office Ministers have had no recent discussions of this issue with the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening).

Police

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what recent estimate she has made of the average life expectancy of (a) male and (b) female police officers;
	(2)  what recent estimate she has made of the average length of time between drawing a pension and death of (a) male and (b) female police officers.

Nick Herbert: No such estimates have been made. However, a valuation by the Government Actuary's Department and quoted in the Winsor Review assessed that the mortality experience for police officers is not greatly different to other public servants.

Police

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the Association of Chief Police Officers on the future of the (a) Police National Information and Co-ordination Centre, (b) National Community Tension Team and (c) Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service.

Nick Herbert: I continue to work constructively with the Association of Chief Police Officers on the important changes that the Government is making to deliver reforms in policing, including discussions about the bodies necessary to support and reinforce those reforms.

Police: Conditions of Employment

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of Part 2 of the Independent Review of Police Officers' and Staff Remuneration and Conditions.

Nick Herbert: I have referred the report's recommendations to the Police Negotiating Board, the Police Advisory Board for England and Wales and the Police Staff Council as appropriate for consideration. It will be for these bodies to consider them in full and to report back to me with their recommendations, which I will consider very carefully.

Police: Southwark

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers, (b) police community support officers and (c) civilian staff were assigned to duties in the London Borough of Southwark in the last year to March 2012.

Nick Herbert: Police work force strength figures below force area level are not collected centrally.

Police Escorts: Wind Turbines

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many police officers were deployed to escort vehicle movements associated with onshore wind turbine repairs and trial runs during the first two weeks of May 2012;
	(2)  what the cost to the public purse was of providing police escorts for vehicle movements associated with onshore wind turbine repairs and trial runs during the first two weeks of May 2012.

Nick Herbert: The Home Office does not collect this information.

Pregnant Women: Discrimination

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what data have been collected on the incidence of discrimination against pregnant women at work; and what assessment she has made of the effects of the economic downturn on the incidence of such discrimination.

Lynne Featherstone: Claims of workplace discrimination against pregnant women are included in the statistics of sex discrimination claims in the Ministry of Justice's quarterly and annual reports about the work of all tribunals run by HM Courts and Tribunals Service. It is not possible to disaggregate this information to determine how many of those claims specifically concern discrimination against pregnant women.
	The Equality Act 2010, which came into effect in October 2010, makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a woman because she is pregnant. The government is committed to a full post-implementation review of the impact of this Act by 2015.
	In October 2010, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published a booklet “Pregnancy and work: What you need to know as an employer” which summarises the rights of pregnant employees and their employers, and also their responsibilities towards each other.

Road Traffic Offences: Cycling

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices were issued for the offence of cycling on the pavement in each year since the introduction of the offence, by location.

Nick Herbert: Data on fixed penalty notices issued for cycling on a pavement are not collected centrally.

Sick Leave

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many days of sick leave were taken by staff in her Department in each of the last three years.

Damian Green: Table 1 includes the average working days lost to sickness absence in the Home Department in the financial years 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12. Figures include Home Office Headquarters as well as the Department's Executive agencies—United Kingdom Border Agency, Identity and Passport Service and Criminal Records Bureau. 2010-11 onwards includes former HMRC Detection staff. 2011-12 also includes National Fraud Authority and Government Equalities Office.
	
		
			 Table 1: Average working days lost 2010-12 
			  RYAWDL 
			 2010(1) 8.80 
			 2011(2) 7.83 
			 2012(3) 7.88 
			 (1, 2) Figures given are based on paid civil servants only and include current employees and those who left the Home Office during the period, in line with Cabinet Office reporting guidelines. Figures include Home Office Headquarters, the United Kingdom Border Agency, Identity and Passport Service and Criminal Records Bureau. (3) Figures given are based on paid civil servants only and include current employees and those who left the Home Office during the period, in line with Cabinet Office reporting guidelines. Figures include Home Office Headquarters, the United Kingdom Border Agency, Identity and Passport Service, Criminal Records Bureau, National Fraud Authority and Government Equalities Office. Extract date: 1 April of each year (Figures based on period from 1 April to 31 March in each year). Source: (1 )Permanent Secretaries Management Group Cabinet Office return, Quarter 1 2010. (2) Permanent Secretaries Management Group Cabinet Office return, Quarter 1 2011. (3) Home Department Dataview Extract as at 31 March 2012, to be included in Permanent Secretaries Management Group Cabinet Office return, Quarter 1 2012.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative in (a) her Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies in 2011-12; and at what cost to the public purse.

Damian Green: The number of days used by trade union representatives for paid facility time within the Department and its non-departmental public bodies is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative in (a) her Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies for trade union (i) duties and (ii) activities in 2011-12

Damian Green: The amount of days utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many trade union representatives in (a) her Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies have faced disciplinary action for abusing paid facility time or public resources in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The Department and its non-departmental public bodies have no record of any trade union representatives having faced disciplinary action for abusing paid facility time or public resources during the past five years.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many meetings have taken place between (a) her Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies and trade union representatives utilising paid facility time in each of the last five years to discuss (i) collective bargaining, (ii) redundancies, (iii) negotiations relating to employment, pay and conditions and (iv) other trade union and industrial relations duties; and what the dates and times were of each meeting.

Damian Green: A significant number of meetings take place each year between the Department and its non-departmental public bodies and representatives of trade unions at national and local level on a wide range of topics on which the Department is legally required to consult or negotiate. Central records of the number, date, time and subject matter of these meetings are not kept. The information requested could be gathered only at disproportionate cost.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions trade union representatives from (a) her Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies have utilised paid facility time to represent an employee at a meeting or other industrial relations matter in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The information requested is not recorded centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost. Under the Employment Relations Act 1999 staff have a legal right to be accompanied to disciplinary or grievance hearings.

UK Border Agency

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff of the UK Border Agency worked on (a) international operations, (b) immigration operations, (c) intelligence operations and (d) enforcement and crime operations in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; how many she expects to be working in each area in 2012-13; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The information requested is provided in the following table. Posts have moved between these groups as a result of organisational changes over the period, which are explained in the footnotes.
	
		
			 Area 31 March 2010 Average 2010-11 31 March 2011 Average 2011-12 31 .March 2012 Average 2012-13 
			 Immigration Group(1) 10,287 9,577 8,867 8,061 7,255 7,372 
			 International Group 2,331 2,234 2,137 2,056 1,974 2,011 
			 Enforcement and Criminality Group(1) 1,163 1,507 1,850 2,022 2,194 2,268 
			 Intelligence(2) 240 234 228 — — — 
			 Strategy and Intelligence Directorate(3) 261 227 (200) 193 (139) 113 113 109 
			 (1) The 2010 Enforcement and Criminality Group figure is made up of work force in the former Criminality and Detection Group (CDG). From 2011-12 Enforcement and Criminality Group also includes the majority of the former Intelligence Directorate(2) as well as work force transferred from Immigration Group. From 1 April 2011 onwards it also includes 160 inwardly seconded police officers. (2) The 2010 figure for Intelligence is made up of the old Intelligence Directorate. This was amalgamated with CDG from 2011 to form Enforcement and Criminality Group, with the exception of the Strategic Intelligence Team which became part of Strategy and Intelligence Directorate. (3) The 2010 Strategy and Intelligence Directorate figure is for Policy and Strategy Group. Part of this function moved to Home Office core, the smaller figure in brackets in 31 March 2011 and the 2010-11 average represents the staff remaining as part of UKBA. 
		
	
	In addition to the staff in Strategy and Intelligence above undertaking intelligence operations there are a further 680 (2010-11) and 660 (2011-12) staff undertaking intelligence operations in the field who cannot be disaggregated throughout from the individual areas. The total intelligence operational figures for 2010-11 and 2011-12 are therefore 819 and 778 respectively, including the old Intelligence Directorate line.

USA

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress she has made on discussions with her US counterpart on the UK's extradition treaty with that country.

Damian Green: Following the Prime Minister's meeting with President Obama in March, UK officials have held constructive discussions with the US State and Justice Departments on drawing up guidance for prosecutors when there are jurisdictional issues in extradition requests made between our two countries.
	The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), is giving careful consideration to the independent review of extradition, published in October 2011 and will announce what action the Government will take, including on the issue of prosecutors' guidance, shortly.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts: Charitable Donations

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps his Department has taken to increase philanthropy in the arts.

Edward Vaizey: The Department has made excellent progress on boosting philanthropy in the arts. A reduced rate of inheritance tax, to help boost legacy giving, came into effect in April this year for those who leave more than 10% of their estate to a cultural body or charity.
	Together with Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund, we are investing £100 million in match funding to incentivise philanthropy through the Catalyst programme. This programme will help cultural organisations diversify their income streams and access more funding from private sources, including through the development of endowments.
	We are also establishing the new Cultural Gifts Scheme, which will enhance acquisitions by museums across the country through the first scheme to use tax incentives to promote lifetime giving to public collections.

British Sky Broadcasting: News Corporation

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether he was aware at the time that on 13 December 2010 Rebekah Brooks had discussed with the Chancellor of the Exchequer News Corporation's bid for BSkyB; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Hunt: I was not aware of any such discussion.

Broadband

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent progress he has made on the delivery of superfast broadband.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent progress has been made on the roll-out of universal broadband in rural areas of England.

Edward Vaizey: I have now approved 37 Local Broadband Plans in support of the Government's rural broadband objectives and nine of those projects are in procurement, with most of these due to commence delivery shortly. The Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) Broadband Delivery Framework is due to be signed this month and the first four projects will enter procurement immediately following signature. The first 10 super-connected cities have been announced and a further 27 cities eligible for phase two of the Urban Broadband Fund have also now been announced.

Cultural Heritage

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans he has to ratify the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

John Penrose: We have no plans to ratify the convention, although we support many of its aims and spirit. We are keen that the rich intangible cultural heritage of the United Kingdom is properly valued and, when necessary, preserved. However, we are wary of legislating on such a sensitive matter as culture, especially in an area such as intangible heritage which, by its very nature, changes rapidly and is difficult to define.

Cultural Heritage

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the 2003 UNESCO convention for the protection of intangible cultural heritage.

John Penrose: The Department has made no formal assessment of the effectiveness of the 2003 convention.

Departmental Staff

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many jobs formerly in his Department and its agencies and non-departmental bodies were transferred to the private sector in 2011-12.

John Penrose: No jobs were transferred to the private sector directly from this Department in 2011-12.
	We do not collate this information for our arm's length bodies (ALBs) and so I have asked their chief executives to write to the hon. Member. Copies of the responses will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
	For ALBs which were declassified during 2011-12, but are still in existence, I can confirm that the Advisory Committee on National Historic Ships and the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester transferred no jobs to the private sector, and that all jobs at the Horserace Totalisator Board (the Tote) moved to the private sector following its sale in July 2011.

Mobile Phones

Anna Soubry: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what support he plans to provide to assist households with the installation of filtering equipment to protect their television services from interference from the use of spectrum by 4G mobile services;
	(2)  what provision is being made to assist public organisations in meeting the cost of protecting digital terrestrial television equipment from interference from new 4G mobile services;
	(3)  what his estimate is of the cost to consumers of the installation of equipment to protect digital terrestrial television services against interference from 4G mobile signals.

Edward Vaizey: The Government has taken a number of policy decisions relating to coexistence between the new mobile services to be introduced in 800 MHz and the existing digital terrestrial television service. These are as follows:
	A single implementation body (referred to as ‘MitCo’) will be set up to manage the delivery of DTT interference mitigation and provide support to DTT consumers. This will be led by the new 800 MHz licensees.
	MitCo will be provided with funding of £180 million. This money is expected to come from the new 800 MHz licensees. Government will bear the risk of any overspend and there will be a 50:50 gain share of any underspend between new licensees and Government when MitCo is closed down.
	MitCo will provide support to DTT consumers. This will include information and providing DTT receiver filters to households proactively and reactively. Platform changes will also be offered to households where filters do not solve the issue of interference.
	A Supervisory Board will be established to monitor MitCo's performance, and to advise Ofcom accordingly.
	Additional support will be provided to vulnerable consumers, including installation support; approximately £20 million of the £180 million fund is intended to cover the cost of this support.
	On 23 February 2012, Ofcom published a consultation on the implementation of these policy decisions. They are currently considering all responses received and expect to make a statement in the summer.
	The consultation documents remain available on the Ofcom website.

Newspaper Press

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has held with (a) Welsh Ministers and (b) other groups, organisations or individuals on the printed news media in Wales.

Edward Vaizey: Neither the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), nor I have held any meetings with Welsh Ministers regarding the business model for the printed news media in Wales. However, I have organised a Q&A session with local newspaper groups for all Westminster MPs, which is to be held on 23 May. I look forward to a very high attendance from hon. and right hon. Members to discuss this important issue.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many trade unions representatives in (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies have faced disciplinary action for abusing paid facility time or public resources in each of the last five years.

John Penrose: No trade union representatives in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) have faced disciplinary action for abusing paid facility time or public resources in the last five years.
	DCMS does not hold this information for its arm's length bodies (ALBs). Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of our ALBs to write directly to my hon. Friend with this information.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many meetings have taken place between (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies and trade union representatives utilising paid facility time in each of the last five years to discuss (i) collective bargaining, (ii) redundancies, (iii) negotiations relating to employment, pay and conditions and (iv) other trade union and industrial relations duties; and what the dates and times were of each meeting.

John Penrose: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost, as we do not hold this data centrally.

DEFENCE

Depleted Uranium

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Article 36 legal review of CHARM3 will be completed.

Nick Harvey: The Article 36 legal review of CHARM3 is expected to now be completed by 1 June 2012.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the facility time agreements between trade unions and (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence makes certain facilities available to civilian employees who are accredited representatives or members but not paid officials of trade unions recognised by the Department. The amount of time off and the purposes for which it is allowed is in accordance with the ACAS code of practice on time off for trade union duties and activities.
	The Facility Time Agreement with the MOD recognised trade unions and staff associations is contained in the Department's HR policy and processes. The document will be placed in the Library of the House.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what (a) grants and (b) contracts his Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who were previously employed in any capacity by (i) the Conservative Party or its elected representatives and (ii) the Liberal Democrat Party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(2)  what (a) grants and (b) contracts his Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who previously held an elected position as a member of the (i) Conservative Party and (ii) Liberal Democrat Party since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(3)  which individuals have been paid by his Department for consultancy or other services who were previously employed in any capacity by the (a) Conservative Party or its elected representatives and (b) Liberal Democrat Party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(4)  which individuals have been paid by his Department for consultancy or other services who previously held an elected position as a member of the (a) Conservative Party and (b) Liberal Democrat Party since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised.

Gregory Barker: As part of this Government's Transparency agenda, since 2010 all contracts over the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder.

Disclosure of Information

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will publish all letters, emails and text messages between Ministers, special advisors and officials in his Department and energy companies in the last 12 months.

Charles Hendry: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Energy: Billing

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to help households with their energy bills.

Edward Davey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams) today.

Energy: Prices

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with the six largest energy companies on their planned residential prices for 2012.

Charles Hendry: DECC Ministers and officials meet with energy suppliers on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues. Electricity and gas pricing for household consumers is a commercial matter for the companies concerned and is regulated by Ofgem.
	The Deputy Prime Minister announced in April that all major suppliers have committed to a number of actions to ensure household energy consumers secure the best deal for them.

Private Sector

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many jobs formerly in his Department and its agencies and non-departmental bodies were transferred to the private sector in 2011-12.

Gregory Barker: No jobs in the Department of Energy and Climate Change, its agencies or non-departmental bodies, have been transferred to the private sector in 2011-12.

Procurement

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when his Department next expects to undertake a spend recovery audit to identify overpayments to suppliers caused by fraud or error.

Gregory Barker: The Department is currently investigating options for how best to undertake spend on this work and expects to complete a spend recovery audit in the current financial year.

Risk Assessment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what strategic or transitional risk registers in each area of policy are held by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: Each significant policy area, function, project and programme within DECC is expected to maintain a risk register. Those registers provide the information that is used to maintain a departmental risk register which is reviewed by the departmental board. The registers form part of the risk management and assurance framework described in the Department's annual report and accounts 2010-11:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/about/our_goals/annual_reports/annualreports.aspx

Telephone Services

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many call centres provide services for his Department and the bodies for which he is responsible; and how many such call centres are based abroad.

Gregory Barker: Seven call centres provide services for the Department and, of these, none are based abroad.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies in 2011-12; and at what cost to the public purse.

Gregory Barker: The Recognition Agreement between DECC and the recognised trades unions (the Public and Commercial Services Union, the FDA and Prospect) follows the ACAS Code of Practice ‘Time off for Trades Union Duties and Activities’ and sets out the details of facility time agreed between parties.
	In 2011-12 DECC employed two full-time equivalent officers who utilised 252 working days. In addition, the department had 11 part-time representatives who utilised approximately 10 working days. The total salary costs were £87,491.98.
	The Department has responsibility for four non-departmental bodies:
	The Civil Nuclear Police Authority
	The Coal Authority
	The Committee on Climate Change
	The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
	Of these, the Civil Nuclear Police Authority employed two full-time equivalent officers who utilised 252 working days. No figures were held for four part-time representatives. The total salary costs were approximately £100,000.
	The other bodies confirm no days were utilised for paid facility time and so zero cost.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will place in the Library copies of the facility time agreements between trade unions and (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies.

Gregory Barker: The Recognition Agreement between DECC and the recognised trades unions (the Public and Commercial Services Union, the FDA and Prospect) follows the ACAS Code of Practice “Time off for Trades Union Duties and Activities” and sets out the details of facility time agreed between parties.
	A copy will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	The Department has responsibility for four non-departmental bodies:
	The Civil Nuclear Police Authority
	The Coal Authority
	The Committee on Climate Change
	The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
	None of bodies have a facility time agreement.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many trade union representatives in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental bodies have faced disciplinary action for abusing paid facility time or public resources in each of the last five years.

Gregory Barker: DECC was created in October 2008 so we only have data from this date.
	No trade unions representatives faced disciplinary action for abusing paid facility time or public resources in any of the years from October 2008.
	The Department has responsibility for four non-departmental bodies:
	The Civil Nuclear Police Authority
	The Coal Authority
	The Committee on Climate Change
	The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
	Of these, the Civil Nuclear Police Authority reports no trade unions representatives faced disciplinary action for abusing paid facility time or public resources in any of the years from October 2008.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many meetings have taken place between (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental bodies and trade union representatives utilising paid facility time in each of the last five years to discuss (i) collective bargaining, (ii) redundancies, (iii) negotiations relating to employment, pay and conditions and (iv) other trade union and industrial relations duties; and what the dates and times were of each meeting.

Gregory Barker: DECC was created in October 2008 so we only have data from this date. The Recognition Agreement between DECC and the recognised trades unions (the Public and Commercial Services Union, the FDA and Prospect) follows the ACAS Code of Practice “Time off for Trades Union Duties and Activities”.
	The Departmental Consultative Council (DCC) meetings take place twice a year, February for the main annual ‘forward planning' meeting, October for a ‘mid-year progress' review. There are two sub-committees: HR Policy meets twice a year (January and September) and Working Environment, Wellbeing and Diversity (January, April, July and October). Other meetings are held on an ad hoc basis and detailed information is not held and would involve disproportionate cost to collect.
	The Department has responsibility for four non-departmental bodies:
	The Civil Nuclear Police Authority
	The Coal Authority
	The Committee on Climate Change
	The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
	For the Civil Nuclear Police Authority, from April 2007 until March 2011 monthly Joint Consultative meetings were held with all three representative bodies, which, became a Joint Negotiation meeting at quarterly intervals.
	For Police Staff Pay Structure design and implementation a fortnightly consultation and negotiation meeting with Prospect from November 2010 until September 2011.
	Detailed information is not held and would involve disproportionate cost to collect.
	The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has only had a recognition agreement in place since January 2012. Since then there have been two meetings to discuss this year's pay remit; 1 meeting to discuss collective bargaining as the body has just agreed this for pay, holidays and hours; no meetings on redundancies and no meetings on trade union and other industrial relations reasons.
	With the national officers there has been two meetings on other industrial relations duties but no meetings in the other three categories.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on how many occasions trade union representatives from (a) his Department and (b) each of the non-departmental public bodies have utilised paid facility time to represent an employee at a meeting or other industrial relations matter in each of the last five years.

Gregory Barker: DECC and its non-departmental bodies does not hold the information you have requested centrally and answering the question would incur disproportionate costs.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Foreign Relations

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with officials in the government of (i) India, (ii) China and (iii) Brazil in the last 12 months.

Jeremy Browne: Ministers and officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office meet their counterparts from India, China and Brazil on a regular basis, through our diplomatic posts, with the relevant high commissions and embassies in London, and during inward and outward visits. These interactions occur in a wide variety of circumstances, and it is therefore not possible to assess accurately the total number of meetings that have taken place in the last 12 months.

Iran

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the government of Iran following recent reports of executions in that country.

Alistair Burt: Iran's excessive use of the death penalty is a major cause for concern. Last year over 650 people were executed, more people per capita than any other country in the world. Iran also shows little regard for minimum international standards in the application of the death penalty, including a lack of fair trial for those convicted and abhorrent methods of execution such as suspension strangulation. The UK has repeatedly called on Iran to address its appalling use of the death penalty, and appealed for sentences, such as that handed to Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, to be overturned. We will continue to do so, and to lead international efforts to hold Iran to account for its human rights record.

Israel

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 8 December 2011, Official Report, column 458W, on Israel, what recent representations he has received on the situation in the village of Al-Araqib in the Negev; and what reports he has received on the conditions for villagers in Al-Araqib.

Alistair Burt: I have not received specific representations or reports on the village or villagers of Al-Araqib in the Negev. But I have received regular reports on the general situation of the Bedouin communities in Israel.
	The British embassy in Tel Aviv is in regular contact with Bedouin leaders and activists and our ambassador in Israel has discussed the Israeli Government's plans for relocation of thousands of Bedouin in the Negev with the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and Minister Begin.
	The Israeli Government's plans were a major focus of my visit to Israel on 8-11 January 2012. I travelled to the region and met Minister Begin during my visit to raise our concerns and encourage further dialogue between the Israeli Government and Bedouin representatives. Extensive consultations with the Bedouin community are under way and it is clear that decisions are not yet imminent. We hope that this process will result in an agreed and satisfactory solution to the long-standing issues of unrecognised Bedouin villages.

Sierra Leone

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department plans to provide for the election process in the November 2012 elections in Sierra Leone.

Henry Bellingham: The British Government, along with its international partners, supports the democratic process in Sierra Leone and is committed to peace, security and stability across the region. Our high commissioner in Freetown and his staff have regularly made our support clear to the Government of Sierra Leone. We hope that the EU will send an observation mission to cover the elections.
	The Department for International Development in Sierra Leone is the largest donor to the electoral process and November elections, providing approximately 50% of election funding to a wide range of government and civil society stakeholders. This includes:
	building capacity in electoral management bodies, including the National Electoral Commission and Political Parties Registration Commission, to enable them to conduct an open and transparent electoral process, which is key to free, fair and credible elections; and
	providing support to a range of institutions responsible for upholding the rule of law—key to ensuring the right security environment on election day—including the Office of National Security and Sierra Leone police.

Sierra Leone

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on steps being taken to reduce registration fraud in Sierra Leone.

Henry Bellingham: The Department for International Development (DFID) has taken the following steps to support the electoral process and help reduce registration fraud in Sierra Leone:
	The Government of Sierra Leone, through the National Electoral Commission, has introduced the requirement for a biometric system to minimise the opportunities for duplicate voter registration and/or voting. DFID has supported the procurement and set-up of this new system;
	Support to the National Elections Watch, a civil society umbrella group to train and field long-term national observers at all stages of the process including registration and the vote itself; and,
	jointly working with the EU to field a team of international observers.

Sierra Leone

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department has spent in Sierra Leone by (a) region and (b) category of spending in each of the last 10 years.

Henry Bellingham: As details are not held centrally, this information can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Sierra Leone

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made an assessment of the Sierra Leonean government's relations with (a) the Sierra Leonean police force and (b) other national institutions that are independent of government.

Henry Bellingham: The Sierra Leone Police Force (SLP) is responsible to the Sierra Leone Ministry of Internal Affairs. The SLP are required to operate under the rule of law and are subject to parliamentary oversight. The UK encourages the Government of Sierra Leone to ensure their relationship with the SLP and other national institutions remain neutral, balanced and within the framework of the Sierra Leone Constitution.

Sierra Leone

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the ability of the Sierra Leonean judiciary to operate independently of the executive.

Henry Bellingham: The UK works closely with the Government of Sierra Leone and the judiciary to promote an environment in which the rule of law in Sierra Leone is impartial and independent of the executive.
	The Department for International Development is a long-term supporter of the justice sector. Its new Access to Security and Justice Programme builds on its six year Justice Sector Development Programme, which supported rebuilding and reshaping of the formal justice sector.
	This new programme will also focus on increasing access to justice to a greater number of citizens. It aims to do so affordably and sustainably by broadening access through community mediation and the use of paralegals as well as maintaining the more formal elements of the system.

Sierra Leone

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which international organisations are offering support for a safe and fair election process to provide for a stable government in Sierra Leone.

Henry Bellingham: The UK Country Team in Sierra Leone is involved in preparations for the election process as well as in monitoring the implementation of the elections in November 2012. Other international organisations offering support include the UN Development Programme and the UN Integrated Peacekeeping Mission in Sierra Leone. We understand that the Economic Community Of West African States, the Commonwealth and the EU are considering sending observer missions to the elections.

Sierra Leone

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the greatest threat to economic and political stability in Sierra Leone.

Henry Bellingham: As with any post-conflict country, there are a range of threats to political and economic stability in Sierra Leone. The UK Country Team regularly reviews four main areas of potential threat. These include political violence, specifically in the context of the upcoming elections; corruption; narcotics and organised crime; and external economic shocks, such as the knock-on effects of regional instability.

Sierra Leone

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received regarding the importation of weapons and military equipment into Sierra Leone.

Henry Bellingham: The British Government fully recognises Sierra Leone's right to self defence. There have been reports that heavy weaponry had recently been purchased by the Government of Sierra Leone. Initial confusion over the identity of the intended recipients of the heavy weaponry have now been clarified by the Government of Sierra Leone. Acting on international advice, the weaponry has been transferred to the Republic of Sierra Leone armed forces for use in their external peacekeeping operations in Somalia.

Sierra Leone

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the recent UN delegation to Sierra Leone.

Henry Bellingham: The most recent UN visit to Sierra Leone was from Ambassador Guillermo Rishchynski, Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission Country Configuration for Sierra Leone, in January 2012. Ambassador Rishchynski reported his findings to the UN Security Council.
	We also understand that representatives from the UN Security Council plan to visit Sierra Leone in the near future.

State Visits: Olympic Games 2012

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which heads of government and ministers have been invited to the London 2012 Olympic games.

Henry Bellingham: Heads of State and Government are invited to attend the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games by their National Olympic and Paralympic Committees. It is not yet clear which Heads of State and Government will attend and we do not expect to have this information until closer to the games.

Sudan

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the treatment of the Nuba people in South Kordofan, Sudan.

Henry Bellingham: The lack of access to Southern Kordofan has so far prevented any proper assessment of the situation. We are in regular touch with the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs on this issue, as well as with non government organisations in Khartoum and Juba. We are deeply concerned at the humanitarian impact of the ongoing conflict. We continue to press both parties to agree a ceasefire in order for humanitarian agencies to be permitted access to those most in need.

Tibet

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has any plans to visit Tibet up to 2015.

Jeremy Browne: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and I have no plans to visit the Tibetan Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China.

Uganda

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will arrange for officials in his Department to discuss with the Wake Up Ministries charity reports of the rape of a child whose education it sponsors in eastern Uganda; and if he will make representations to the Government of Uganda on this issue.

Henry Bellingham: We cannot comment on this specific case but encourage anyone with information about child abuse in Uganda to report it to the Ugandan police force.
	We are deeply concerned by the high number of reported incidents of child abuse in Uganda. The most recent police report notes in 2010 they investigated 4,781 cases of child related offences. A report released by the Child and Family Protection Unit of the police force indicates that 320 minors were defiled in 2010.
	We are working closely with our EU partners in pressing the Government of Uganda to protect child rights as enshrined in the constitution, including through adopting and implementing a national action plan to combat child abuse. The Department for International Development is providing almost £500,000 for child protection work in Uganda through the African Network for Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect.

Visits Abroad

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visits have been made to (a) India, (b) China and (c) Brazil by Ministers in his Department in each of the last 10 years.

Jeremy Browne: Full records of ministerial travel over the last 10 years are not available within the time available without incurring disproportionate cost. However, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers have visited India on three occasions in 2011 and once in 2012, Brazil on four occasions in 2011 and once this year, and China on five occasions in 2011. In addition, I am currently travelling in Asia and will visit China. A full list of ministerial visits overseas is published quarterly on the FCO's website at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/publications-and-documents/transparency-and-data1/hospitality

Zimbabwe

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to ensure that the Zimbabwean government honours its obligations to UK citizens entitled to a Zimbabwean pension.

Henry Bellingham: We have for many years and will continue to make representations, through our embassy in Harare, to the Government of Zimbabwe on the importance of fulfilling their legal responsibilities to former public servants who are entitled to a Zimbabwe government pension.
	HM consul in Harare last met with the Director of Pensions of the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare on this issue in April 2012. The Director confirmed that trial payments were made to some pensioners in South Africa in March 2012: South Africa so chosen because of the proximity of the countries, similarities in the banking systems and the fact that most of the pensioners reside there. However, the Department of Pensions encountered technical and procedural difficulties with some of the banks and have had to stop all payments to review the process.
	We will continue to press the Zimbabwean authorities to ensure that this process is taken to its conclusion.

TRANSPORT

A31

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will take steps to reinstate the brown tourism sign on the A31 Canford Bottom junction for Wimborne Minster; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: I am pleased to confirm that the brown tourism sign for Wimborne Minster will be reinstated as part of the A31 Canford Bottom junction improvement scheme.

Accountancy

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many members of staff working for her Department had a recognised accountancy qualification in each of the last three years; and how many such staff (a) have the Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) qualification and (b) are working towards a recognised accountancy qualification.

Norman Baker: The Department (including its seven executive agencies) has 183 staff with recognised accountancy qualifications, of whom 36 have ACA status. In addition, 25 staff are currently working towards a recognised accountancy qualification.

Bus Services

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress she is making with plans for the implementation of Regulation 181/2011/EU in relation to coach travel for disabled people; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: EU Regulation 181/2011 on the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport will apply from 1 March 2013. As a Regulation, it will be directly applicable. However, each Member State is responsible for putting in place enforcement measures and deciding whether to use the time-limited exemptions available to delay the application of certain aspects of the EU Regulation. We will be consulting on these issues shortly.

Bus Services

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration she has given to reducing the period of notice required under Regulation 181/2011/EU from the proposed 36 hours for UK coach operators; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The Government is not minded at present to go beyond the requirements of the EU Regulation, which was agreed after 2 years of detailed negotiations.

Bus Services

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether journeys within the UK which are in excess of 155 miles in total but which are made up of separate individual legs of less than 155 miles on different coaches will be treated as a single journey for which assistance is available under Regulation 181/2011/EU on the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport.

Norman Baker: The Government is currently considering whether guidance on the application of EU Regulation 181/2011 on the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport is required. However, we cannot give a definitive interpretation of the law, as that is a matter for the courts.

Bus Services

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions she has had with disability organisations on the implementation of Regulation 181/2011/EU on the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport.

Norman Baker: Ministers have had no specific meetings with disability organisations to discuss the application of EU Regulation 181/2011 on the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport. We will shortly be undertaking a public consultation exercise on how the EU regulation should be applied, allowing stakeholders to express their views.

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what (a) grants and (b) contracts her Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who were previously employed in any capacity by (i) the Conservative party or its elected representatives and (ii) the Liberal Democrat party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(2)  what (a) grants and (b) contracts her Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who previously held an elected position as a member of the (i) Conservative party and (ii) Liberal Democrat party since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(3)  which individuals have been paid by her Department for consultancy or other services who were previously employed in any capacity by the (a) Conservative party or its elected representatives and (b) Liberal Democrat party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(4)  which individuals have been paid by her Department for consultancy or other services who previously held an elected position as a member of the (a) Conservative party and (b) Liberal Democrat party since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(5)  what the (a) job title and (b) pay band is of each official, excluding special advisers, recruited by her Department since May 2010 who was previously employed in any capacity by the (i) Conservative party or its elected representatives and (ii) Liberal Democrat party or its elected representatives; and whether their position was advertised publicly;
	(6)  what the (a) job title and (b) pay band is of each official, excluding special advisers, recruited by her Department since May 2010 who previously held an elected position as a member of the (i) Conservative party and (ii) Liberal Democrat party; and whether their position was advertised publicly.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport and its seven Executive Agencies does not capture such data.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much her Department plans to spend on the High Speed 2 Rail project in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15; and how much of this expenditure will be allocated to consultancy fees in each of those years.

Justine Greening: The planned spend in developing High Speed 2 in 2013-14 is £150.1 million and in 2014-15 is £211.5 million. As part of undertaking the environmental impact assessment for phase 1 of the route, HS2 Ltd will be procuring services from specialist firms (e.g. engineering and environmental design). The planned spend in these activities, which are classified as technical consultancy, will be approximately £138.7 million in 2013-14 and £174.7 million in 2014-15.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of whether the business case ratio for High Speed Rail 2 may fall below 1.2:1.

Justine Greening: As with any major project of this kind, the Government continues to review and update its economic assessment as the project develops, key milestones are reached and to reflect the latest research and evidence. I intend to publish updated economic analysis later in the summer. However, the narrow economic case is only one part of the decision-making process for this strategically important project.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Birmingham Yardley of 8 November 2010, Official Report, columns 110-11W, on railways: West Midlands and to the answer to the hon. Member for South Northamptonshire of 1 May 2012, Official Report, columns 1374-75W, on the High Speed 2 Railway Line, for what reasons the estimated and actual expenditure for her Department's high speed rail proposals were different for the financial year 2011-12.

Justine Greening: The difference between the comprehensive spending review allocation for high speed rail and actual spend in 2011-12 reflects changes to the project including my decision moving from December to January, which affected the timing of expenditure on some contracts.

Highways Agency

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many full-time equivalent staff worked for the Highways Agency in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and how many she expects to work there in 2012-13.

Michael Penning: The number of full-time equivalent staff employed by the Highways Agency (HA) in 2010-11 was 3,545 and in 2011 -12 was 3,385.
	The number of full-time equivalent staff expected to work in the Highways Agency in 2012-13 is 3,380. This figure is based on the number of HA staff employed on 1 April 2012.

Level Crossings: Accidents

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidents reported at level crossings involved collisions between trains and (a) pedestrians and (b) road vehicles in each of the last 10 years; how many such incidents resulted in a fatality; and where such incidents occurred.

Theresa Villiers: This information is not held by the Department for Transport. The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) and the RSSB collate figures of incidents and accidents on the railway that are reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995.
	Safety statistics for railways are available on the RSSB website at:
	www.rssb.co.uk
	In addition, the ORR reports annually on safety performance, including at level crossings.

Level Crossings: Accidents

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport at which level crossings safety works have been undertaken following an incident involving a collision between a train and (a) pedestrians and (b) road vehicles in each of the last 10 years.

Theresa Villiers: This information is not held by the Department for Transport. Safety at level crossings is a matter for the relevant railway safety duty holder. These duty holders, such as Network Rail, have a legal obligation to reduce risks at level crossings so far as is reasonably practicable.
	It is the responsibility of the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) to monitor that railway duty holders meet those obligations, and to take enforcement action to secure improvements as necessary.

Motorcycles

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the quantitative indicators provided by the European Commission to support the extension of anti-tampering measures to unrestricted motorcycles under Articles 17, 18 and 52 of its proposed measures concerning the approval and market surveillance of two- or three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the evidence cited by the European Commission on the scale of tampering and illegal modification of powered two wheelers as a proportion of the EU and UK fleet for (a) mopeds, (b) 125cc machines and (c) machines greater than 125cc;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of the evidence cited by the European Commission on the proportion of accidents involving death or serious injury of motorcycle riders for which tampering and illegal modification has been identified as a primary cause of the accident in the (a) EU and (b) UK;
	(4)  what assessment she has made of the figures provided by the European Commission to demonstrate that anti-tampering measures are effective at enforcing type approval regulations.

Norman Baker: The Commission has not published any indicators to support the extension of anti-tampering measures to unrestricted motorcycles as part of their current proposal. A Commission sponsored study is under way which may provide evidence on the scale of tampering, its influence on accidents in the EU, and the effectiveness of new regulations. The Department will consider the results of this study when they are published.
	The Department's impact assessment could not find evidence to support anti-tampering measures on unrestricted motorcycles and on this basis the Government has opposed proposals to extend anti-tampering measures to unrestricted motorcycles.

Pay

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of her Department's officials located in Wales would be affected by proposals for local-facing pay.

Norman Baker: The Department is still considering its plans on reform of pay arrangements in light of the recently issued civil service pay guidance for 2012/13. This process takes place every year and departmental officials will begin consultation with the TUS in each of the Agencies and DfT(c) in the coming months.

Railways: Carbon Emissions

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what projections her Department has made of carbon emissions from the UK rail sector in each year to 2050.

Theresa Villiers: The Department has made the following projections of rail passenger and freight traction carbon emissions in Great Britain.
	The projections show an initial rise in carbon emissions resulting from running more and longer trains to accommodate passenger and freight growth. Over time this growth is then offset by energy efficiency improvements, further electrification and, in particular, by the gradual decarbonisation of the electricity generating sector resulting in a net reduction in carbon emissions.
	
		
			  MtCO 2 
			 2011-12 3.25 
			 2012-13 3.20 
			 2013-14 3.22 
			 2014-15 3.21 
			 2015-16 3.24 
			 2016-17 3.21 
			 2017-18 3.14 
			 2018-19 3.12 
			 2019-20 3.12 
			 2020-21 3.08 
			 2021-22 3.01 
			 2022-23 2.99 
			 2023-24 2.96 
			 2024-25 2.98 
			 2025-26 3.00 
			 2026-27 2.96 
			 2027-28 2.93 
			 2028-29 2.90 
			 2029-30 2.87 
			 2030-31 2.83 
			 2031-32 2.79 
			 2032-33 2.73 
			 2033-34 2.67 
			 2034-35 2.59 
			 2035-36 2.52 
			 2036-37 2.46 
			 2037-38 2.39 
			 2038-39 2.31 
			 2039-40 2.24 
			 2040-41 2.15 
			 2041-42 2.13 
			 2042-43 2.13 
			 2043-44 2.12 
			 2044-45 2.11 
			 2045-46 2.10 
			 2046-47 2.09 
			 2047-48 2.08 
			 2048-49 2.08 
			 2049-50 2.08

Railways: North West

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much she expects to be spent on the Northern Hub project in each year of the current spending review period; and how much she expects to be spent in subsequent spending review periods.

Theresa Villiers: We have announced two Northern Hub schemes comprising £85 million for the Ordsall Chord and associated works, and £130 million for Sheffield-Manchester capacity improvements and line speed improvements between Manchester and Preston, Manchester and Bradford and Manchester and Sheffield. We have also announced, subject to confirmation of the business case, £290 million funding for a related scheme; namely the electrification of the railway between Manchester, Leeds and the East Coast Main Line.
	The phasing of the work, and therefore the timing of the expenditure, is a matter for Network Rail, but we expect all the funding allocated to date will be spent by 2018-19.
	We will be considering the remaining Northern Hub schemes in the High Level Output Specification which will be published in July 2012.

Rescue Services

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how often the helicopters based at Portland and Lee-on-Solent have been airborne on operational missions at the same time in the latest period for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: The Search and Rescue helicopters based at Portland and Lee-on-Solent were airborne on operational missions on 27 occasions at the same time in the period between April 2011 and March 2012.

Rescue Services

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how often the search and rescue aircraft based at Portland has been called out on operational missions in the latest period for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: The Search and Rescue helicopter based at Portland was called out on 195 operational missions in the period April 2011 to March 2012.

Rescue Services

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the short-listed bidders for Long Term Search and Rescue helicopter services will be published.

Norman Baker: The shortlisted bidders were first published on the UK SAR page of the DfT website in February.

Rescue Services

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what account she plans to take of UK growth and employment when procuring Long Term Search and Rescue helicopter services.

Norman Baker: In the Invitation to Participate in Dialogue, bidders have been asked how they will engage with the supply chain, UK industry and small and medium sized enterprises.

Rescue Services

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration she plans to give to supporting (a) major UK manufacturers, (b) the UK aerospace supply chain and (c) UK small and medium-sized enterprises when awarding the contract for Long Term Search and Rescue helicopter services.

Norman Baker: In the Invitation to Participate in Dialogue, bidders have been asked how they will engage with the supply chain, UK industry and small and medium sized enterprises.

Rescue Services

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how she plans to (a) determine, (b) monitor and (c) enforce (i) environmental, (ii) economic and (iii) social standards in the procurement of Long Term Search and Rescue helicopter services.

Norman Baker: Bidders must demonstrate how they will comply with all the standards set out in the Invitation to Participate in Dialogue documents. The resulting information will be taken into account in the evaluation of their management plans. How the standards are monitored and enforced will be considered by both parties during the competitive dialogue process.

Rescue Services

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what relative weighting will be given to (a) economic, environmental and sustainability elements and (b) other aspects of the bids for Long Term Search and Rescue helicopter contracts.

Norman Baker: I refer the hon. Member to the following web page, which explains all relative weightings for the evaluation of bids:
	http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/uk-sar-helicopters-services/part-3-evaluation-strategy-and-process.pdf
	The economic, environmental and sustainability elements of bids will be component parts of bidders' management plans.

Rescue Services

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps will be taken against or penalties applied to the operator of search and rescue helicopter services should it not meet the environmental and sustainability commitments set out in its bid for the contract.

Norman Baker: Steps to be taken in the event of a future search and rescue operator failing to meet any of the terms and conditions of the contract will be the subject of negotiations during the dialogue phase of the procurement process.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the reasons are for the time taken to finalise the Thameslink rolling stock contract; and when she expects the contract to be finalised.

Theresa Villiers: The Department expects to conclude the core project agreements with Siemens and Cross London Trains shortly, following which Cross London Trains and their lending banks then need to conclude the financing documentation required to secure the necessary equity and debt funding for the project.

Telephone Services

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many call centres provide services for her Department and the bodies for which she is responsible; and how many such call centres are based abroad.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport and its seven Executive Agencies directly operate four public facing contact centres for motoring and highway services, and contracts out two contact centres—one for the Driving Theory Test and another for the National Vehicle Recovery Centre. It also operates an internal facing contact centre for its Shared Service functions. All are based in the UK.

Transport: Disability

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of disabled access to transport in Newton Abbot constituency; and what steps she is taking to improve such access.

Norman Baker: The Secretary of State has made no recent assessment of the adequacy of provision for disabled access to transport in Newton Abbot. Newton Abbot, like other towns, will benefit from the increase in the number of accessible buses and trains that are required by regulation. I would invite my hon. Friend to contact me if she has a specific issue in mind.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Crisis Loans

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many crisis loans were provided to people living in Ashfield constituency in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: The Ashfield parliamentary constituency is covered by the East Midlands North Social Fund Budget Area. The following table provides the figures on the total number of Social Fund crisis loan applications and awards for the last three years.
	
		
			 Total number of crisis loan applications and awards for the East Midlands North Social Fund Budget Area, 2009-10 to 2011-12 
			 Accounting year Applications Awards Success rate (%) 
			 2009-10 76,010 56,220 74.0 
			 2010-11 85,970 66,360 77.2 
			 2011-12 71,060 56,480 79.5 
			 Notes: 1. The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National statistics and there are some issues with the data, for example, these amounts do not include expenditure on applications which were processed clerically and have not yet been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System. 2. Data on Budgeting Loans and Crisis Loans is not held by parliamentary constituency but by Jobcentre Plus Social Fund Budget Area. The Social Fund Budget Area information provided will also cover other parliamentary constituencies. 3. All of the figures relate to applications and awards, not people. Individuals can apply for and receive more than one Social Fund loan in any given year. 4. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: Budget and Management Information System (PBMIS, Applications Received and Initial Awards for East Midlands North Social Fund Budget Area).

Disability Living Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many families with disabled children in receipt of disability living allowance have been sent a letter warning them they may be affected by the benefit cap; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The first direct mail letters were issued on 4 May 2012 and will continue to be issued to potentially affected claimants up to 22 May 2012. During this period around 2,600 claimants with children in receipt of DLA will be sent a letter.

Disability Living Allowance: Appeals

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the maximum length of time from the date of appeal against the removal of disability living allowance to the date of the hearing.

Maria Miller: Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are responsible for the preparation of appeal submissions with Her Majesty's Court and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) being responsible for the scheduling and hearing of appeals.
	DWP Management Information statistics do not record the level of detail requested. The maximum number of days would depend on the individual case and the level of additional evidence that may be required. In certain instances it may be necessary to request a medical to be undertaken which can delay submission of the case.
	The SSCS Tribunal does not hold information on the shortest and longest waiting times for an appeal hearing. The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost by manually checking each individual case file.
	It is possible to provide, from management information, the percentages of appeals disposed of within four weeks and longer than 52 weeks. During the period 1 April to 31 December 2011 (the most recent period for which statistics have been published), 65,200 DLA appeals were disposed of nationally. Of these, 6.9% were disposed of within four weeks and 7.9% were aged 52 weeks or more when disposed of. Those appeals that take longer than 52 weeks to be disposed of are likely to be complex cases which may have more than one hearing, for example a first hearing may have been adjourned for further evidence to be gathered.
	The average time from receipt at Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to hearing for DLA appeals in the period 1 April 2011 to 31 December 2011 was 25.5 weeks.

Disability Living Allowance: Appeals

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has for the average length of time from the date of appeal against the removal of disability living allowance to the date of the appeal hearing in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Maria Miller: Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are responsible for the preparation of appeal submissions with Her Majesty's Court and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) being responsible for the scheduling and hearing of appeals.
	The average actual clearance time (AACT) within DWP for submitting disability living allowance (DLA) appeal submissions to HMCTS during the period from April 2011 to March 2012 was 30 days.
	The SSCS Tribunal does not hold information on the shortest and longest waiting times for an appeal hearing. The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost by manually checking each individual case file.
	It is possible to provide, from management information, the percentages of appeals disposed of within four weeks and longer than 52 weeks. During the period 1 April to 31 December 2011 (the most recent period for which statistics have been published), 65,200 DLA appeals were disposed of nationally. Of these, 6.9% were disposed of within four weeks and 7.9% were aged 52 weeks or more when disposed of. Those appeals that take longer than 52 weeks to be disposed of are likely to be complex cases which may have more than one hearing, for example a first hearing may have been adjourned for further evidence to be gathered.
	The average time from receipt at Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to hearing for DLA appeals in the period 1 April 2011 to 31 December 2011 was 25.5 weeks.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether an unemployed young person can change their Work Programme prime provider if offered a Youth Contract position with an employer that has a partnership with a different prime provider.

Chris Grayling: Individuals cannot change their Work Programme prime provider. However, in the example cited, the young person's prime provider would be free to engage with the employer concerned to discuss payment of a wage incentive under the Youth Contract.

European Social Fund

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much of the funding available to his Department from the European Social Fund was unspent in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Chris Grayling: The 2007-13 England European Social Fund programme achieved its expenditure targets in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and no funding was decommitted by the European Commission.

Housing Benefit

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what financial assistance is available other than the discretionary hardship funds, to assist claimants aged under 35 whose housing benefit is restricted to the shared accommodation rate.

Steve Webb: The extension to the age threshold for the shared accommodation rate, from 25 to under 35s has been introduced from January 2012 for new claims. For existing claimants, the change will apply at the end of their transitional protection period or, where no transitional protection is in place, on the anniversary of their claim or on a change of circumstances after that date.
	Various groups of tenants in vulnerable situations are exempt from the shared accommodation rate and these will be carried forward to the age increase.
	Discretionary housing payments can be paid to those in receipt of housing benefit or council tax benefit, who face a shortfall in meeting their contractual rent and where the local authority considers that further financial assistance with housing costs is required. There is no other financial assistance available from the housing benefit budget for claimants affected.
	Shared Accommodation Rate Exemptions:
	Local Authority and Housing Association tenants—Social sector tenants normally have their rent met in full (less deductions for non-dependants and earnings) as rents are generally below market rates.
	Tenants in certain supported accommodation—Tenants who are in accommodation where the landlord is a county council, voluntary organisation or charity and provides care, support or supervision. These cases are assessed under pre 1996 rules which recognise that their housing costs may be more expensive.
	Claimants entitled to the severe disability premium—customers in receipt of middle or higher rate care component of disability living allowance provided no one gets a carer's allowance for them.
	Claimants under the age of 22 who were formerly in social services care—Allows care leavers some leeway to become settled and establish links whereby they could share accommodation with others.
	The Government has added two further exemptions for those aged over 25:
	A small group of ex-offenders subject to active multi-agency management under the Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). Offenders subject to MAPPA are in the main 25 years or over. This is considered appropriate in order to safeguard the public rather than relying on discretionary housing payments.
	People who have spent three months or more in a homeless hostel specialising in rehabilitating and resettling this group within the community. The three month qualifying condition is designed to target people receiving sustained rehabilitation rather than those who have sporadic, short term stays. Targeted at people aged 25 years and over as there is increasing prevalence among this age group of rough sleeping.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Young People

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) 18 to 24 and (b) 18 to 21 year-olds claimed jobseeker's allowance in England in the latest period for which figures are available; what proportion ceased claiming after (i) three, (ii) six, (iii) nine and (iv) 12 months; and how many of those who ceased claiming after each such period (A) found a full-time job, (B) found a part-time job, (C) entered full-time higher education, (D) entered full-time further education, (E) transferred to other benefits and (F) left for another destination.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated May 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many (a) 18-24 and (b) 18-21 year olds claimed Jobseekers Allowance in England in the latest period for which figures are available; what proportion ceased claiming after (i) three, (it) six, (iii) nine and (iv) 12 months; and how many of those who ceased claiming after each such period (A) found a full-time job, (B) found a part-time job, (C) entered full-time higher education, (D) entered full-time further education, (E) transferred to other benefits and (F) left for another destination. (106467)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles the number of claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system.
	Table 1 shows the number of people aged 18-24 and 18-21 who were claiming JSA in England in April 2012.
	Table 2 shows the number of people aged 18-24 and 18-21 who flowed off Jobseeker's Allowance in England by age group, length of claim and destination between the March and April 2012 counts. We have provided the length of claim in weeks as follows: 0-13 weeks, 14-26 weeks, 27-39 weeks, 40-52 weeks and 52 and over weeks. The requested categories for the destination of these off-flows are not available. As an alternative we have categorized these off-flows as Found job/increased hours; Full-time education; Transfer to other benefits; and Other/Unknown.
	Table 3 shows the number of off-flows of people aged 18-24 and 18-21 as a percentage of all off-flows between the March and April 2012 counts for each age group for the same breakdowns as table 2.
	National and local area estimates for many labour-market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Number (1)  of people claiming jobseekers allowance in England—April 2012 
			 Age Number 
			 18 to 24 381,895 
			 18 to 21 234,270 
			 (1) Data rounded to nearest five. Source: Jobcentreplus Administrative System 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number (1)  of people who flowed off jobseeker's allowance in England by age group, length of claim and destination—April 2012 
			  Aged 18-24 
			 Length of claim (weeks) : All durations 0-13 14-26 27-39 40-52 Over 52 
			 Destination       
			 Total 107,605 63,720 21,260 11,190 4,310 7,125 
			 Of which:       
			 Found job/ increased hours(2) 37,225 19,030 9,070 4,990 1,905 2,225 
			 Full-time education 940 810 70 40 15 5 
			 Transfer to other benefits(3) 3,195 1,200 870 520 260 345 
			 Other/unknown 66,245 42,680 11,250 5,635 2,135 4,550 
		
	
	
		
			  Aged 18-2 1 
			 Length of claim (weeks) All durations 0-13 14-26 27-39 40-52 Over 52 
			 Destination       
			 Total 63,370 38,725 12,810 7,045 2,410 2,385 
			 Of which:       
			 Found job/ increased hours(2) 20,470 10,105 5,140 3,080 1,025 1,120 
			 Full-time education 810 710 55 35 10 5 
			 Transfer to other benefits(3) 2,100 795 570 360 160 215 
		
	
	
		
			 Other/unknown 39,990 27,115 7,045 3,570 1,215 1,050 
			 (1) Data rounded to nearest five. (2) Increased hours covers those who have increased their work to more than 16 hours a week (3) Transfer to other benefits covers the categories incapacity benefit, income support and other benefits. 4. Other/unknown covers the categories ceased claiming; gone abroad; deceased; failed to sign; retirement age; claim review; automatic credits; defective claim; gone to prison; training; and not known. Note: Totals may not add up to their independently rounded components. Source: Jobcentreplus Administrative System 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: Percentage of people who flowed off jobseeker's allowance in England by age band, length of claim and destination—April 2012 
			 Percentage 
			  Aged 18-24 
			 Length of claim (weeks) : All durations 0-13 14-26 27-39 40-52 Over 52 
			 Destination       
			 Total 100 59 20 10 4 7 
			 Of which:       
			 Found job/ increased hours(1) 35 18 8 5 2 2 
			 Full-time education 1 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Transfer to other benefits(2) 3 1 1 0 0 0 
			 Other/unknown(3) 62 40 10 5 2 4 
		
	
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  Aged  18-21 
			 Length of claim (weeks) : All durations 0-13 14-26 27-39 40-52 Over 52 
			 Destination       
			 Total 100 61 20 11 4 4 
			 Of which:       
			 Found job/ increased hours(1) 32 16 8 5 2 2 
			 Full-time education 1 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Transfer to other benefits(2) 3 1 1 1 0 0 
			 Other/unknown(3) 63 43 11 6 2 2 
			 (1) Increased hours covers those who have increased their work to more than 16 hours a week (2) Transfer to other benefits covers the categories incapacity benefit, income support and other benefits. (3) Other/unknown covers the categories ceased claiming; gone abroad; deceased; failed to sign; retirement age; claim review; automatic credits; defective claim; gone to prison; training; and not known. Note: Totals may not add up to their independently rounded components. Source: Jobcentreplus Administrative System

Occupational Pensions

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the competitiveness of the agency worker industry of the staged implementation scheme for the automatic enrolment regulations.

Steve Webb: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave on 30 April 2012, Official Report, column 1323W.

Occupational Pensions

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the potential (a) cost and (b) administrative burden of a voluntary anytime opt-out from the automatic enrolment regulations for temporary workers; and what steps his Department has taken to minimise the administrative obligations for (i) agency workers and (ii) agencies.

Steve Webb: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave on 30 April 2012, Official Report, column 1323W.

Occupational Pensions

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 30 April 2012, Official Report, column 1323W, on occupational pensions, what mechanisms his Department has put in place to monitor the effect of the automatic enrolment regulations on the competitiveness and flexibility of the agency worker industry; and what arrangements are in place to review the provisions of the regulations once their effect has been evaluated.

Steve Webb: We are committed to a full evaluation of the impact of the workplace pension reforms. A copy of the workplace pension reform evaluation strategy, published in summer 2011, can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2011-2012/rrep764.pdf
	The first evaluation report will be published in summer 2012. This will describe the landscape before implementation of the reforms. Subsequent reports will measure the effects of the reforms. Information will also be made available through publications linked to each of the data sources used in the evaluation. These reports will be available from the DWP Research & Statistics website:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/research-and-statistics/
	The Department will undertake a review of the regulations at the appropriate time, should the evaluation show that to be necessary.

Personal Independence Payment

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to develop a set of assessment criteria for personal independence payments that recognises fluctuating conditions such as myalgic encephalopathy and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Maria Miller: We recognise the importance of ensuring that the assessment for personal independence payment deals effectively with the impact of variable and fluctuating conditions. This is something we have been considering throughout the development process.
	Our proposals for the assessment criteria have been developed in collaboration with a group of independent experts in health and disability and with considerable input from disabled people and disability organisations. Throughout the development process we have met with a range of organisations representing people with fluctuating conditions, including Action for ME and other organisations representing people suffering from CFS/ME.
	Our proposal is that the assessment will consider an individual's ability to carry out activities over a period of time, enabling us to capture a reliable picture of how they are affected by their condition. Our current thinking is to look at the impact of impairments over a 12-month period and consider how ability is affected on the majority of the days in that period. This process should allow us to take the fluctuations into account.
	However, the criteria have not yet been finalised. Our formal consultation on the second draft of the assessment criteria closed on 30 April and we are now in the process of carefully considering all of the responses we have received, along with feedback from stakeholder meetings held during the consultation period.
	I can assure you that we are considering all of these comments very carefully as we evaluate what changes need to be made to the assessment criteria.
	We intend to publish a response to the consultation alongside a revised draft of the assessment criteria later in the year, once our considerations are complete. The final draft regulations will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny through the affirmative procedure.

Social Fund

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency took out loans using the Social Fund in each of the last five years.

Steve Webb: The Kilmarnock and Loudoun Parliamentary Constituency is covered by the Inverness Social Fund Budget Area. Table 1 following provides the figures on the total number of Social Fund Crisis Loan applications and awards for the last five years.
	
		
			 Table 1: Total number of crisis loan applications and awards for the Inverness social fund budget area, 2007-08 to 2011-12 
			 Accounting year Applications Awards Success rate (percentage) 
			 2007-08 137,400 95,780 69.7 
			 2008-09 138,940 90,300 65.0 
			 2009-10 175,400 137,110 78.2 
			 2010-11 136,270 106,320 78.0 
			 2011-12 103,610 84,800 81.8 
		
	
	Table 2 following provides the figures on the total number of Social Fund Budgeting Loan applications and awards for the last five years.
	
		
			 Table 2: Total number of budgeting loan applications and awards for the Inverness social fund budget area, 2007-08 to 2011-12 
			 Accounting year Applications Awards Success rate (percentage) 
			 2007-08 54,150 40,730 75.2 
			 2008-09 53,770 37,780 70.3 
			 2009-10 54,750 41,090 75.1 
			 2010-11 51,820 36,770 71.0 
			 2011-12 51,840 36,730 70.9 
			 Notes: 1. The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National statistics and there are some issues with the data, for example, these amounts do not include expenditure on applications which were processed clerically and have not yet been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System. 2. Data on Budgeting Loans and Crisis Loans is not held by parliamentary constituency but by Jobcentre Plus Social Fund Budget Area. The Social Fund Budget Area information provided will also cover other parliamentary constituencies. 3. All of the figures relate to applications and awards, not people. Individuals can apply for and receive more than one Social Fund Loan in any given year. 4. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: Budget and Management Information System (PBMIS, Applications Received and Initial Awards for the Inverness Social Fund Budget Area)

Social Fund: Birmingham

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Birmingham, Ladywood constituency took out loans using the Social Fund in each of the last five years.

Steve Webb: The Birmingham Ladywood parliamentary constituency is covered by the West Midlands Social Fund Budget Area. Table 1 following provides the figures on the total number of Social Fund Budgeting Loan applications and awards for the last five years.
	
		
			 Table 1: Total number of budgeting loan applications and awards for the West Midlands social fund budget area, 2007-08 to 2011-12 
			 Accounting year Applications Awards Success rate (percentage) 
			 2007-08 141,030 107,920 76.5 
			 2008-09 158,960 116,470 73.3 
			 2009-10 181,230 132,010 72.8 
			 2010-11 169,190 121,380 71.7 
			 2011-12 168,280 120,090 71.4 
		
	
	Table 2 following provides the figures on the total number of Social Fund Crisis Loan applications and awards for the last five years.
	
		
			 Table 2: Total number of crisis loan applications and awards for the West Midlands social fund budget area, 2007-08 to 2011-12 
			 Accounting year Applications Awards Success rate (percentage) 
			 2007-08 134,060 72,310 53.9 
			 2008-09 261,520 178,270 68.2 
			 2009-10 355,170 253,190 71.3 
			 2010-11 298,670 219,360 73.4 
			 2011-12 244,040 192,550 78.9 
			 Notes: 1, The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National statistics and there are some issues with the data, for example, these amounts do not include expenditure on applications which were processed clerically and have not yet been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System. 2. Data on Budgeting Loans and Crisis Loans is not held by local authority or parliamentary constituency but by Jobcentre Plus Social Fund Budget Area. 3. All of the figures relate to applications and awards, not people. Individuals can apply for and receive more than one Social Fund Loan in any given year. 4. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: Budget and Management Information System (PBMIS, Applications Received and Initial Awards for West Midlands Social Fund Budget Area)

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households his Department estimates will be affected by the benefit cap when it is introduced; and how many such households have been sent a letter warning them that they may be affected by the cap.

Chris Grayling: The impact assessment published on the 23 January stated that 67,000 households would be affected by the household benefit cap in 2013-14. Following the concessions won in the House of Commons on 1 February, we estimate that the grace period of 39 weeks for claimants who have been in employment for 52 weeks or more before leaving work will reduce the number of households affected to around 57,000.
	Between 4 May 2012 and 22 May 2012, around 63,000 households will have received letters which inform them about the benefit cap and state that it may affect them. These figures include those households we forecast may reach the cap amounts in the coming year, due to annual uprating of benefits.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will consider including information about discretionary housing payments in letters warning claimants that they may be affected by the benefit cap when the second tranche of letters is sent out; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: Any future letters that we send to claimants who may be affected by the benefit cap in April 2013, if their circumstances remain unchanged, will provide details of the support available to them. DWP will continue to signpost claimants to their local authority to obtain support with their housing needs. Part of this support will be the consideration by the local authority of whether a discretionary housing payment may be appropriate to support claimants in the short-term while they seek employment opportunities or make alternative housing arrangements. Although DWP provides guidance on how LAs should administer the scheme, it is wholly discretionary and we cannot tell LAs how to distribute this money.
	The precise wording of any future letters has yet to be decided.

State Retirement Pensions

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 24 April 2012, Official Report, column 793W, on state retirement pensions, if he will estimate the cost of increasing the 25 pence increase to the state pension for over 80 year olds to £10 a week if the payment was (a) tax-free and not taken into account for income-related benefits, (b) taxable but not taken into account for income-related benefits and (c) taxable and counted as income for the purposes of income-related benefits.

Steve Webb: The cost of increasing the 25 pence age addition to the state pension for people aged 80 and over to £10 a week is estimated to be:
	
		
			 2012-13 
			  £ billion 
			 (a) tax free and not taken into account for income-related benefits 1.5 
			 (b) taxable but not taken into account for income-related benefits 1.4 
			 (c) taxable and counted as income for the purposes of income-related benefits 1.0 
			 Notes: 1. Estimates given show the additional spend due to increasing the 25 pence age addition in 2012-13. Part (b) includes savings from taxing the increase, resulting in lower net spend. Part (c) includes savings from taxing the increase and savings from reduced income related benefit payments (including pension credit, housing benefit, council tax benefit, working tax credits and child tax credits), further reducing net spend. 2. The 25 pence age addition is normally taxable and taken into account for income related benefit payments. 3. Part (a) has been calculated using projected expenditure on the 25 pence age addition in 2012-13 under the current system. Parts (b) and (c) were calculated by multiplying part (a) by proportions of expenditure that would be saved if the increase were taxable / counted as income for the purposes of income-related benefits. These proportions were estimated using the Department's Policy Simulation Model. Parts (b) and (c) were not estimated directly using the Policy Simulation Model due to reliability issues associated with smaller sample sizes. 4. Net costs for 2012-13 have been presented, however increasing the 25 pence age addition in 2012-13 will have substantial knock-on effects for spending in future years. 5. Figures shown are against a baseline of current policy spend based on April 2012 benefit rates. 6. Estimates are in 2012-13 prices, have been rounded to the nearest £100 million and are for Great Britain. Source: DWP estimates

Work Capability Assessment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many work capability assessments have been completed for existing incapacity benefit claimants in each month since February 2011.

Chris Grayling: The Department recently published official statistics on work capability assessment outcomes for claimants going through the incapacity benefits reassessment programme. This covers all claims referred for reassessment by July 2011.
	The publication can be found on the departmental website here:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_ibr

Work Capability Assessment

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the suitability of the work capability assessment for applicants with fluctuating conditions such as myalgic encephalopathy.

Chris Grayling: The WCA gives people with fluctuating conditions the opportunity to explain how their condition varies over time, and how this affects them.
	The health care professionals who carry out the WCA are trained to ask about and take account of fluctuation. The assessment is not a snap-shot—if a person can't carry out a function repeatedly and reliably, they will be treated as unable to carry out that function at all.
	However, we recognise that particular concerns have been raised about the way the WCA works for people with fluctuating conditions. As part of his second independent review, Professor Harrington asked leading charities, including the Forward ME, to make recommendations to refine the physical descriptors used in the WCA.
	These recommendations are being considered as part of the Department's evidence-based review of the WCA, as well as a review of the ESA 50 form.

Work Capability Assessment

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what feedback his Department has received from applicants for employment and support allowance diagnosed with myalgic encephalopathy following the implementation of the Harrington Review of the work capability assessment.

Chris Grayling: We welcome feedback about the WCA from claimants, irrespective of their health condition or disability, and we monitor this feedback and react accordingly.
	The Department is currently considering the recommendations made by Professor Harrington in his second independent review, and is working closely with disability representative groups, including Forward ME and others, to ensure the needs of specific groups of claimants—particularly people with fluctuating conditions—are taken into account.
	In addition, Professor Harrington will publish another call for evidence this summer, which will give individuals, charities and disability representative groups another opportunity to express their views on the WCA.

TREASURY

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what (a) grants and (b) contracts his Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who were previously employed in any capacity by (i) the Conservative Party or its elected representatives and (ii) the Liberal Democrat Party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(2)  what (a) grants and (b) contracts his Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who previously held an elected position as a member of the (i) Conservative Party and (ii) Liberal Democrat Party since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised whether they were publicly advertised;
	(3)  which individuals have been paid by his Department for consultancy or other services who were previously employed in any capacity by the (a) Conservative Party or its elected representatives and (b) Liberal Democrat Party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(4)  which individuals have been paid by his Department for consultancy or other services who previously held an elected position as a member of the (a) Conservative Party and (b) Liberal Democrat Party since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised.

Chloe Smith: HM Treasury complies with public procurement regulations and aims to secure best value for money for the taxpayer when entering into commercial agreements for goods and services supplied by third parties.
	HM Treasury does not hold nor does it request information on whether the companies or organisations it contracts with are run by individuals who were previously employed by a political party or its elected representatives or, in the case of consultants, were themselves an elected representative of a political party. Tenderers are expected to declare actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest.
	In line with the Government's transparency agenda, from January 2011 HM Treasury has published all tenders and new contracts valued £10,000 or more (excluding VAT). These can be found on the “Contracts Finder” website at:
	http://www.contractsfinder.co.uk

Consultants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on external consultants, including management consultants, in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: HM Treasury (the core Department and Group Shared Services) spent £28.5 million (excluding VAT) on external consultants, including management consultants, in the financial year 2010-11.
	The figure is published annually in the Department’s annual report and accounts, which can be found online at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/annual_report_accounts 140711.pdf
	Information for the financial year 2011-12 will be available in due course. This will also be published on the Department’s website.

Equitable Life Payment Scheme

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward the publication of the next progress report on the Equitable Life Compensation Scheme to spring 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The scheme intends to publish a progress report in summer 2012 on the volumes and values of payments made.

Equitable Life Payment Scheme

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many Equitable Life policyholders entitled to compensation under the Equitable Life Payment Scheme with (a) accumulating with-profits, (b) conventional with-profits and (c) eligible group pension policies had received payment by 31 March 2012; and how much has been paid to each such category of policyholder is to date;
	(2)  how many Equitable Life with-profits annuity (WPA) policyholders entitled to compensation under the Equitable Life Payment Scheme had received payment by 31 March 2012; whether all eligible WPA policyholders will receive a first payment by 30 June 2012; and how much has been paid to such policyholders is to date;
	(3)  how many eligible Equitable Life policyholders entitled to compensation under the Equitable Life Payment Scheme with accumulating with-profits and conventional with-profits policies who are not due to receive payment before July 2012 were notified of the (a) value and (b) date of future payments by 31 March 2012;
	(4)  how many estates of deceased Equitable Life policyholders entitled to compensation under the Equitable Life Payment Scheme had received payment up to 31 March 2012; and what proportion of the total payments due to estates this represents;
	(5)  when his Department last received information on the (a) number and (b) total value of payments made by the Equitable Life Payment Scheme.

Mark Hoban: The scheme intends to publish a progress report in summer 2012 on the volumes and values of payments made.

Horses

Tim Farron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value to the economy was of the (a) equine and (b) horse racing industry in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated May 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning, what the value to the economy was of the (a) equine and (b) horse racing industry in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.
	Estimates for the equine and horse racing industries are not available from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, the ONS Annual Business Survey provides estimates for Activities of racehorse owners, UK Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities (SIC2007) 93.19/1. The estimates for total turnover, approximate gross value added at basic prices and total purchases and are available, 2008 to 2010. The latest data was released 17th November 2011.
	The data for this industry is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Annual Business Survey 
			 SIC 93.19/1—Activities of racehorse owners. Release date 17 November 2011 
			 Standard Industrial Classification (Revised 2007) Subclass Description Year Number of enterprises Total turnover (1)  (£ million) Approximate gross value added at basic prices (2)  (£ million) Total purchases (3)  (£ million) 
			 93.19/1 Activities of racehorse owners 2008 3,053 48 -44 92 
			   2009 2,814 193 49 177 
		
	
	
		
			   2010 2,701 267 131 142 
			 (1) Total Turnover—Turnover is defined as total sales and work done (2) Approximate GVA at basic prices—Gross value added (GVA) represents the amount that individual businesses, industries or sectors contribute to the economy. Broadly, this is measured by the income generated by the business, industry or sector less their intermediate consumption of goods and services used up in order to produce their output. (3) Total purchases—This represents the value of all goods and services purchased during the year.

Horses

Tim Farron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the gross tax revenue was from the (a) equine and (b) horse racing industry in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

David Gauke: The information requested is not available. Corporation tax records, VAT and excise duty returns are not broken down to the level of detail required to identify gross tax revenue from the equine and horse racing industries.

Loans: Republic of Ireland

Christopher Chope: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to make a decision on the rate of interest payable on the Government's loans to Ireland; and how much interest has been received so far from the Irish government on the loans which have been drawn down.

Mark Hoban: The rate of interest applicable to each tranche of the bilateral loan to Ireland and the interest payment arrangements are set out in the Loan Agreement that I deposited in the Library of the House on 10 January 2011. As my hon. Friend will be aware, last year, the Chancellor of the Exchequer committed to reduce the interest rate on the bilateral loan while still covering the UK's cost of funding. Work to revise the loan agreement is ongoing. The new interest rate will apply retrospectively to those tranches of the loan that have already been disbursed.
	In accordance with the existing terms of the loan agreement, the first interest payment was received on 15 December 2011. Thereafter, interest on each disbursed tranche of the loan is payable every six months until the maturity date of each tranche. Once in force, the new interest rate will apply retrospectively and interest payments will be adjusted accordingly.
	Under the terms of the Loans to Ireland Act the Treasury is required to report periodically on the bilateral loan, including on loan payments made, interest received and amounts outstanding. As I set out in my written statement to the House on 17 April 2012, Official  Report, column 17WS, to ensure that Parliament has the most useful and up-to-date information, subject to it being feasible to do so, I will lay this report alongside the finalised details of the new interest rate in the coming weeks.

Pool Re

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much the Government has committed to pay under the Pool Re insurance scheme in the next year;
	(2)  under what heading in supply estimates government commitments under the Pool Re insurance scheme are represented in the Government's accounts;
	(3)  what his policy is on underwriting Pool Re in the event of a terrorist incident which depletes Pool Re's reserves.

Mark Hoban: The Government established the 'Pool Re' scheme in 1993 after a series of attacks on the UK mainland resulted in reinsurers, and consequently insurers, withdrawing cover for damage to commercial property caused by an act of terrorism. The scheme exists to ensure such cover remains available in the absence of an adequate independently functioning market in this area.
	Pool Reinsurance Ltd (Pool Re) provides reinsurance cover for all insurers that wish to become a member of the scheme and which insure commercial property in Great Britain. In order to participate in the scheme insurers must cede all terrorism risk that they cover to Pool Re and they must also guarantee to provide a quote for commercial terrorism cover in response to any request.
	The premiums paid by insurers for reinsurance cover are accrued by Pool Re over time and are only used to pay for claims once insurers themselves have paid out in excess of pre-agreed limits. Under the terms of the scheme, as set out in the Reinsurance (Acts of Terrorism) Act 1993, the Government acts as reinsurer of last resort by reinsuring Pool Re in respect of its liabilities to direct insurers. Government would only be called to exercise this function in the event that the Pool Re reserves had been exhausted.
	The Retrocession Agreement also provides for an annual premium to be paid to the Government for the provision of this guarantee to Pool Re. In the event that the Government guarantee is called on the Treasury is entitled to recoup amounts paid out through increased premiums from Pool Re in subsequent years.
	Government's liabilities in relation to the Pool Re scheme fail under Part III, Note K of HM Government's supply estimates. The specific disclosure relating to Pool Re is within the sub section headed 'Statutory'. The Government's liability in this area is classified as 'unquantifiable' owing to the uncertainty and unpredictability surrounding the likelihood, timing and scale of a terrorist incident.
	Since 1993, Pool Re has processed claims relating to 11 separate terrorist incidents with payments to claimants in the region of £610 million.
	These payments have been met entirely within Pool Re's own reserves. To date, the Government has never made a payment to Pool Re in respect of a terrorism incident. Pool Re's reserves currently stand at around £4.5 billion.

Revenue and Customs

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to limit the costs incurred by people calling the HM Revenue and Customs helpline.

David Gauke: HMRC has responded to the recommendation contained in the Treasury Select Committee report published on 26 October 2011 by introducing a non 0845 number for the tax credits helpline. HMRC is continuing to look hard at what else they can do as an alternative to 0845 numbers in other areas of their business.

Revenue and Customs

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for answers to calls to the HM Revenue and Customs helpline.

David Gauke: HMRC have produced a three year business plan for 2012-15 which includes as a priority improving accessibility, accuracy and timeliness.
	To help improve the accessibility of its contact centres, HMRC is developing a more flexible resourcing model which allows them to manage busy periods better by deploying extra resource to deal with short-term increases in demand.
	HMRC will also continue to reduce the need for customers to contact them unnecessarily resulting in a better service if they do need to call. For example, by making processes simpler or by adding to and improving their automated solutions many customers will obtain the information they need without having to wait to speak to an adviser.
	In 2011-12, HMRC has significantly improved the number of call attempts handled to 74% (compared to 48% in the previous year) and aim to achieve 90% of call attempts handled by 2014-15.

Risk Assessment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what strategic or transitional risk registers in each area of policy are held by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: The Treasury has in place across all policy areas robust processes for monitoring, managing and mitigating against internal and external risks. The Treasury board and its sub-committees take regular evidence from the Economic, Fiscal and Operational Risk Groups which are chaired by members of the executive management group who are held to account for the Department’s performance.

Tax Allowances: Pensioners

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Leeds West of 30 April 2012, Official Report, column 1205W, on tax allowances: pensioners, and the answer to the hon. Member for Clwyd South of 30 April 2012, Official Report, columns 1200-2W on tax allowances, how many people in (a) the UK and (b) each region will be affected by (i) the freeze in the age-related allowance and (ii) the restriction in eligibility in each of the next five years.

David Gauke: My previous written answers referenced by the hon. Member provide the available information by country and region. Numbers affected specifically by changes to eligibility for personal allowances for those born before 6 April 1948 in 2014-15 and later years will depend on the level of the personal allowance for those born after 5 April 1948.

Taxation

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate his Department has made of the amount of overdue (a) corporation tax, (b) national insurance payments, (c) PAYE and (d) VAT in Scotland.

David Gauke: The information is not available, and could be researched only at disproportionate cost.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many trade union representatives in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies had (i) part-time and (ii) full-time paid facility time arrangements in 2011-12;
	(2)  how many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies in 2011-12; and at what cost to the public purse;
	(3)  how many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies for trade union (i) duties and (ii) activities in 2011-12;
	(4)  if he will place in the Library copies of the facility time agreements between trade unions and (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies;
	(5)  how many trade unions representatives in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies have faced disciplinary action for abusing paid facility time or public resources in each of the last five years;
	(6)  how many meetings have taken place between (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies and trade union representatives utilising paid facility time in each of the last five years to discuss (i) collective bargaining, (ii) redundancies, (iii) negotiations relating to employment, pay and conditions and (iv) other trade union and industrial relations duties; and what the dates and times were of each meeting;
	(7)  on how many occasions trade union representatives from (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies have utilised paid facility time to represent an employee at a meeting or other industrial relations matter in each of the last five years.

Chloe Smith: Since 1 December 2011, no one in HM Treasury or its non-departmental public bodies has been paid in support of trade union activities and the current facility time agreement is under negotiation at the present time. Between 1 April and 30 November 2011, HM Treasury had one member of staff at Grade 7 who spent 0.6 (FTE) of their time working as a trade union representative. The cost to the Department was around £30,000 (based on the average employment cost for the grade).
	HM Treasury follow the ACAS code of practice "Time off for Trades Union Duties and Activities" when allowing other staff time off for trade union activities. This is available at:
	http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2391
	No trade union representatives have faced disciplinary action for abusing paid facility time or public resources in the last five years.
	Information on the number of occasions trade union representatives have utilised paid facility time to meet Treasury officials or to represent an employee at a meeting or other industrial relations matter is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

VAT

Karen Lumley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of businesses in the West Midlands that will be affected by planned changes to the imposition of VAT on caravans.

David Gauke: Annex B—Tables of Impact for Individual Measures in HM Revenue and Customs consultation document "VAT: Addressing Borderline Anomalies", published at Budget 2012, sets out estimates for VAT which will be raised from holiday caravans and a summary of impacts upon which comments are invited.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/vat-con-4801.pdf

VAT

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 25 April 2012, Official Report, column 899W, on VAT, how many of the 750 businesses are based in (a) Wales, (b) England, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland.

David Gauke: No further breakdown of this figure is available. HM Revenue and Customs invites comments on the consultation document.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/vat-con-4801.pdf

VAT

Simon Hart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many submissions have been received to his Department's consultation on VAT: addressing borderline anomalies; and how many such submissions relate to holiday caravans.

David Gauke: The consultation closes on 18 May 2012. The Government will publish a Summary of Responses document after the consultation has closed and the responses have been analysed.

VAT

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to which exemptions from VAT universities are entitled; and what estimate he has made of the value of such exemptions.

David Gauke: The main VAT exemption that is used by universities is the exemption of supplies of education and vocational training. Universities may also benefit from any VAT exemptions provided they meet the conditions for those exemptions. More details of the exemption for education are in HM Revenue and Customs Notice 701/30.
	No estimate is available of the cost of exemptions for universities. The estimated cost of the VAT exemption for all education is £2,400 million for 2011-12 and can be found in table 1.5 of the published tax expenditure and ready-reckoner statistics:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/table1-5.pdf

VAT

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many responses have been received to the consultation on addressing borderline anomalies in VAT; and of these how many related to (a) hot food, (b) sports drinks, (c) hairdressers chairs, (d) caravans and (e) listed buildings and churches.

David Gauke: The consultation closes on 18 May 2012. The Government will publish a Summary of Responses document after the consultation has closed and the responses have been analysed.

VAT

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to an average household of the combined VAT increases announced in Budget 2012 over the next 12 months.

David Gauke: The cost to consumers of the combined VAT increases announced at Budget 2012, coming into effect on 1 October 2012, will depend on their individual expenditure patterns and the extent to which retailers pass on the cost. HMRC have published more detailed assessments of the impact of each individual measure in their consultation document 'VAT: Addressing Borderline Anomalies', published at Budget 2012.

Working Tax Credit

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of families in Hove constituency who will no longer receive working tax credit following changes made in Budget 2012.

David Gauke: The only change to tax credits made in Budget 2012 was to lower the working hours requirement for working tax credit, including the childcare element, for couples with children where at least one partner is entitled to carers allowance. This is likely to slightly increase the number of families that will be eligible for working tax credit. Constituency level breakdowns are not available.
	For those losing entitlement due to the changes in tax credits being introduced in April 2012, I refer to the answer I gave 20 February 2012, Official Report, column 644W.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what (a) grants and (b) contracts his Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who were previously employed in any capacity by (i) the Conservative party or its elected representatives and (ii) the Liberal Democrat party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(2)  what (a) grants and (b) contracts his Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who previously held an elected position as a member of the (i) Conservative party and (ii) Liberal Democrat party since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(3)  which individuals have been paid by his Department for consultancy or other services who were previously employed in any capacity by the (a) Conservative party or its elected representatives and (b) Liberal Democrat party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(4)  which individuals have been paid by his Department for consultancy or other services who previously held an elected position as a member of the (a) Conservative party and (b) Liberal Democrat party since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised.

Alan Duncan: As part of this Government's Transparency Agenda, since January 2011, all centrally issued DFID contracts over the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder.

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what the (a) job title and (b) pay band is of each official, excluding special advisers, recruited by his Department since May 2010 who was previously employed in any capacity by the (i) Conservative party or its elected representatives and (ii) Liberal Democrat party or its elected representatives; and whether their position was advertised publicly;
	(2)  what the (a) job title and (b) pay band is of each official, excluding special advisers, recruited by his Department since May 2010 who previously held an elected position as a member of the (i) Conservative party and (ii) Liberal Democrat party; and whether their position was advertised publicly.

Alan Duncan: DFID does not maintain a central record of previous employers of DFID staff, nor would DFID consider it appropriate to record or seek information about any position they might have hold in any political party.
	All DFID appointments comply with the Civil Service Commissioners Recruitment Principles (on merit on the basis of fair and open competition) or by ‘exception’ as permitted by the principles.
	DFID staff are also made aware of their responsibilities in respect of political activities and impartiality through the Civil Service Code and the DFID intranet guidance.

Consultants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on external consultants, including management consultants, in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: DFID expenditure on consultancy (as defined by central Government) in the financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12 are provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Spend (£) 
			 2010-11 1,406,000 
			 2011-12 675,000 
		
	
	Consultancy spend continues to reduce following the introduction of tight controls on the use of consultancy in May 2010.

South Sudan

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to assist women subjected to rape and sexual assault in South Sudan in accessing justice and health services;
	(2)  what proportion of his Department's planned expenditure in South Sudan will be allocated to programmes to prevent or respond to violence against women and girls;
	(3)  what steps his Department plans to take to address violence against women and girls in South Sudan;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the effects of violence on the life chances of women and girls in South Sudan;
	(5)  what recent assessment his Department has made of the main obstacles preventing women and girls from leading free and full lives in South Sudan.

Alan Duncan: The South Sudan Operational Plan includes an assessment of the situation of women and girls in South Sudan. This analysis confirmed the importance of the four pillars of DFID's strategic vision—economic empowerment, health, education, and tackling violence against women and girls—in the South Sudanese context. Women and girls frequently face domestic violence, and violence related to conflict and insecurity. South Sudan has the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world, and was recently categorised as one of the 10 worst places in the world to be a mother. There is also a significant gender gap in education, with less than 20% of South Sudanese women being literate. Together these barriers seriously restrict the life chances of women and girls.
	We are working to expand women's opportunities, and over time, transform attitudes so that women's status is higher and they face less violence; as well as tackling violence directly. It is therefore difficult to quantify precisely the proportion of expenditure which is helping to tackle violence against women and girls. Key programmes in this area include a £50 million plan focused on girls' education, which will support 200,000 girls in school and a £56 million pound Health Pooled Fund that has a particular focus on maternal mortality. We are also exploring the potential to put in place a major programme to deliver access to justice for South Sudanese women. Our humanitarian programming also has a major focus on gender. The Common Humanitarian Fund, to which DFID provided £15 million this year, is developing plans to assist victims of gender based violence, including rape and sexual assault, and training humanitarian actors to respond.

South Sudan

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions his Department has had with the Government of South Sudan on improving the economic independence of women and girls in South Sudan.

Alan Duncan: My Department has engaged the Government repeatedly on the issues that are critical to women's economic independence, including the oil crisis and its impact on vulnerable groups such as women and girls. Through our work we are seeking to address the significant barriers to women achieving their economic potential, including cultural attitudes, high levels of maternal mortality and low levels of female literacy. This includes ensuring more than 20,000 women have at least four antenatal visits, and supporting an additional 200,000 girls through school.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  how many trade union representatives in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies had (i) part-time; and (ii) full-time paid facility time arrangements in 2011-12;
	(2)  how many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies in 2011-12; and at what cost to the public purse;
	(3)  how many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies for trade union (i) duties and (ii) activities in 2011-12;
	(4)  if he will place in the Library copies of the facility time agreements between trade unions and (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies;
	(5)  how many trade union representatives in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-department public bodies have faced disciplinary action for abusing paid facility time or public resources in each of the last five years;
	(6)  how many meetings have taken place between (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies and trade union representatives utilising paid facility time in each of the last five years to discuss (i) collective bargaining, (ii) redundancies, (iii) negotiations relating to employment, pay and conditions and (iv) other trade union and industrial relations duties; and what the dates and times were of each meeting;
	(7)  on how many occasions trade union representatives from (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies have utilised paid facility time to represent an employee at a meeting or other industrial relations matter in each of the last five years.

Alan Duncan: DFID had one part-time member of staff allocated to trade union duties under paid facility time arrangements in 2011-12. This member of staff is the chair of the departmental trade union and represents members of both the First Division Association (FDA) and the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS). There are no elected trade union representatives in DFID's two non-departmental public bodies,
	The trade union chair allocates all of her time to trade union work. This equated to 138 days in 2011-12. The costs to the Department would be in the range of £15,000-£20,000.
	The trade union chair spent approximately 110 days on trade union duties and 28 days on trade union activities; this equates to an 80/20 split.
	DFID will not be putting information regarding the facility time arrangements in the Library as this contains personal information.
	No DFID trade union representative has faced any disciplinary action for abusing paid facility time or public resources in each of the last five years.
	DFID does not hold a central record of the number of meetings that have taken place in each of the last five years to discuss collective bargaining, redundancies, negotiations relating to employment, pay and conditions and other trade union and industrial relations duties.
	DFID does not hold a central record of the number of occasions that the trade union has used facility time to represent an employee at a meeting or other industrial relations matters in the last five years.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Birds of Prey: Conservation

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to conserve the hen harrier as a species of principal importance for biodiversity in England.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA officials are members of the Environment Council-facilitated Hen Harrier Dialogue Working Group, which is looking at how we can improve the population of hen harriers on grouse moors. The Environment Council has commissioned a study on using rearing facilities as a way of maintaining hen harriers alongside grouse and DEFRA has allocated £10,000 to this work in the 2011-12 financial year.
	In addition, the Langholm Moor Demonstration Project is trialling methods, such as diversionary feeding, that might enable an economically viable grouse moor and healthy hen harrier population to co-exist.

Birds of Prey: Conservation

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many hen harriers fitted with radio or satellite tags by Natural England between 2002 and 2012 ceased to transmit data while in the vicinity of land managed for driven grouse shooting.

Richard Benyon: It is not always possible for fieldworkers to determine the precise location of an individual hen harrier when its radio or satellite tag ceases to transmit data. This is particularly true for birds with radio tags because detection of the signal from a radio tag relies on the presence of fieldworkers on the ground, usually within about 10 km of the bird. Signals are also often lost when the battery of the tag is exhausted. These factors make it impossible to determine the final location and associated land use for many of the tagged birds.

Droughts: Desalination

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has considered use of sea water desalination plants in order to alleviate the drought affecting parts of the UK.

Richard Benyon: All water companies have drought plans that set out the actions they will take to manage drought and are following these. They are also planning ahead to consider actions that may be needed to manage a prolonged drought.
	Water companies plan through their water resources plans to balance supply and demand over the long term and consider all options through an appraisal process to identify a preferred programme. Large scale infrastructure projects such as sea water desalination plants can have a long lead in time and desalination is expensive in energy and green house gas emissions compared to other options. One company, Thames Water, has an operational desalination plant, which treats brackish water drawn from the Thames, and has the capacity to produce sufficient potable water for one million people. No other companies have identified desalination plants as a preferred option for balancing supply and demand.

Fossil Fuels

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will discuss fossil fuel subsidy reform with her international counterparts at the UN conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20.

Richard Benyon: Fossil fuel subsidy reform is a priority for the UK, and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), will be discussing this with her international counterparts at Rio+20.

Litter: Motor Vehicles

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the oral answer of 19 January 2012, Official Report, column 895, on littering and fly-tipping, over what time period her Department plans to monitor the efficacy of the power granted to local authorities in the London Local Authorities Bill 2007-08 to 2010-12 to make littering from vehicles a civil offence; and what plans she has to pilot this power in rural areas.

Richard Benyon: Borough councils in London will shortly be able to use new powers acquired through the tenth London Local Authorities Act to issue a civil penalty for the offence of littering from vehicles. DEFRA is working closely with the authorities in London to learn the lessons of this approach before considering further legislation. Following an adequate bedding down of the powers in London, the Government will consider all options pragmatically, including the possibility of rolling out these powers elsewhere in the country.

Private Sector

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many jobs formerly in her Department and its agencies and non-departmental bodies were transferred to the private sector in 2011-12.

Richard Benyon: During 2011-12 there were no job transfers to the private sector from core DEFRA, its executive agencies and main non-departmental public bodies.

Rural Areas

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government are taking to help growth and competitiveness in rural farms and businesses.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA works across government ensuring measures designed to support economic growth are having proportionate and positive impacts in rural areas.
	On 29 November 2011, the Government announced a strong package of new measures, designed to stimulate sustainable growth in the rural economy and help businesses reach their full potential. The results of this include the establishment of five Rural Growth Networks in 2012-13, and the targeting of £100 million of Rural Development Programme for England funding at meeting Rural Economy Growth Review priorities.
	Broadband connectivity is also vital for economic prosperity and the Government has invested £530 million to support the roll out of broadband across all rural areas. Through the £20 million Rural Community Broadband Fund, the Government are also providing grant support to enable communities (including businesses) to access superfast broadband in hard to reach locations. £150 million is also being invested in the UK to improve mobile phone coverage.

UN Conference on Sustainable Development

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with which of her ministerial colleagues she is preparing the UK's position for the Rio+20 conference.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 15 May 2012
	The UK's preparations for Rio+20 have been led by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), working closely with Cabinet colleagues, in particular the Deputy Prime Minister, who will lead the UK delegation. This is a matter of the highest importance across government and has therefore been of interest to many Ministers, including the Prime Minister.

EDUCATION

Academies: Press Releases

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will instruct officials in his Department not to require supportive quotes from academies for use in press releases.

Tim Loughton: There is no policy to require supportive quotes from academies for use in press releases.

Accountancy

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many staff in his Department had (a) a recognised accountancy qualification and (b) the Associate Chartered Accountant qualification in each of the last three years; and how many staff in his Department were working towards a recognised accountancy qualification in each such year.

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education does not currently record information on our qualified accountants and accountancy students in the format requested. We can provide information on how many staff we are aware of in the Department that held a recognised accountancy qualification as at 31 March 2012 and, of those how many held the Associate Chartered Accountant qualification. We can also provide information on how many staff in the Department are currently working towards a recognised accountancy qualification under our Finance Bursary Scheme, but we are unable to provide any of this information for previous years.
	(a) Staff in the Department holding a recognised accountancy qualification as at 31 March 2012—36
	(b) Those holding the Associate Chartered Accountant qualification—7
	(c) Staff currently working towards a recognised accountancy qualification—21
	The number of staff holding a recognised accountancy qualification, and those holding the ACA qualification includes those working within the finance function in the Department, and also those qualified accountants who may be working elsewhere across the Department, but who have recorded their qualification with the Head of the Finance Profession in order that they may be included in CPD opportunities. There may be other qualified and ACA qualified accountants within the Department that we are unaware of.

Children in Care: Missing Persons

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions his Department has had with local authorities on collecting data on the number of children who go missing from care each year.

Tim Loughton: We have regular communications with local authorities in relation to the SSDA903 return on children looked after by local authorities. These communications include bulletins, newsletters and focus group meetings. We also produce a set of guidance notes giving clear descriptions for all data items within the return.
	It is recognised that there is a need to improve data collection by local authorities on numbers of children who go missing from care. The Department is considering how this can best be achieved.
	Full details of the data collected on looked after children from local authorities via the SSDA903 return can be found in the data collection guidance notes which can be found on the Department's website via the following link:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/stats/childrenlar/b00200554/children-looked-after-general-guidance-2011-12

Computers

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) desktop and (b) laptop computers are available for use by him and his staff in his private office.

Tim Loughton: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), and his Private Office have been provided with (a) 11 desktop computers and (b) four laptops.

Curriculum: Mathematics

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of state schools offered further mathematics A-level in the last academic year for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: Information on subjects offered by schools is not held by the Department. However there were 1,209 maintained schools or colleges with entries in further mathematics A-level in 2010/11. This represents 58.2% of the 2,077 maintained schools and colleges who had entries for A-levels in 2010/11.

Curriculum: Outdoor Education

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the merits of introducing elements of outdoor education into the national curriculum.

Nick Gibb: The Government recognise the important contribution that outdoor education can make to engaging and supporting pupils in their education. However, we believe that schools are in the best position to decide how best to include outdoor education in fulfilling their responsibilities to provide a broad and balanced curriculum. Our current review will refocus the national curriculum on core knowledge in key subjects, while allowing schools greater freedom to design and teach a wider school curriculum that best meets the needs of their pupils.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Private Education

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils who were enrolled in independent schools in the academic year 2010-11 were in receipt of the top rate of education maintenance allowance.

Nick Gibb: In the academic year 2010/11, 8,715 recipients of the top rate of education maintenance allowance were enrolled in independent schools. This includes students in independent special schools funded by local authorities.

Free School Meals

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received on the effects on children of free school meals.

Nick Gibb: The Department has not recently received any representations on the effects on children of free school meals.

Free School Meals

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what proportion of (a) primary and (b) school pupils are eligible for free school meals in (i) England, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) Hyndburn constituency;
	(2)  what proportion of eligible (a) primary and (b) school pupils take free school meals in (i) England, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) Hyndburn constituency.

Nick Gibb: Information on the number and percentage of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Information on how many pupils meet the eligibility criteria but do not make a claim is not available.
	Information on the number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals as at January 2011 is published in the Statistical First Release “Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2011” available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001012/index.shtml

Free School Meals: Gateshead

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children in Gateshead are registered for free school meals.

Nick Gibb: Information on the number and percentage of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals is shown in the table.
	Information on the number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals as at January 2011 is published in the Statistical First Release ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2011' available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001012/index.shtml
	
		
			 Maintained nursery, state-funded primary, state-funded secondary, special schools and pupil referral units (1,2,3,4)  January 2011 
			  Number and percentage of pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals 
			  Maintained nursery and state-funded primary (1,2) 
			  No. on roll (5,6) No. of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals (5,6) % known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals 
			 England 3,873,175 743,255 19.2 
			 Gateshead 13,561 3,112 22.9 
		
	
	
		
			  Number and percentage of pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals 
			  State-funded secondary (1,3) 
			  No. on roll (5,6) Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals (5,6) % known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals 
			 England 2,837,825 450,275 15.9 
			 Gateshead 10.611 1,830 17.2 
		
	
	
		
			  Number and percentage of pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals 
			  Special (4) 
			  No. on roll (5,6) No. of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals (5,6) % known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals 
			 England 79,030 28,830 36.5 
			 Gateshead 366 157 42.9 
		
	
	
		
			  Number and percentage of pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals 
			  Pupil referral units 
			  No. on roll (5,6) No. of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals (5,6) % known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals 
			 England 13,725 4,745 34.6 
			 Gateshead 88 11 12.5 
		
	
	
		
			  Number and percentage of pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals 
			  Total 
			  No. on roll (5,6) No. of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals (5,6) % known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals 
			 England 6,803,755 1,227,110 18.0 
			 Gateshead 24,626 5,110 20.8 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies. (4) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (5) Includes full time and part time pupils who are sole or dual main registrations. Includes boarding pupils. In pupil referral units, also includes pupils registered with other providers and further education colleges. (6) Pupils who have full time attendance and are aged 15 or under, or pupils who have part time attendance and are aged between five and 15. Note: National totals have been rounded to the nearest 5. Source: School Census

Free School Meals: Primary Education

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which local authorities have extended free school meals beyond the entitlement criteria to all nursery and primary school children.

Nick Gibb: Local authorities are able to extend eligibility to free school meals to children beyond the entitlement criteria set nationally by the Government. While the Department does not hold a record of the local authorities which choose to do this, we understand that some in the London area have extended entitlement to free school meals to all primary school children.

Free School Meals: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children attending schools in (a) Coventry and (b) the west midlands are eligible for free school meals.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 16 May 2012
	Information on the number and proportion of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Maintained nursery, state-funded primary, state-funded secondary, special schools and pupil referral units (1,2,3,4 ) number and percentage of pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals. January 2011. Coventry local authority, west midlands and England 
			  Number on roll (5,6) Number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals (5,6) Percentage known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals 
			 England 6,803,755 1,227,110 18.0 
			 West Midlands 755,985 160,275 20.9 
			 Coventry 43,514 10,155 23.3 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies. (4) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (5) Includes full-time and part-time pupils who are sole or dual main registrations. Includes boarding pupils. In pupil referral units, also includes pupils registered with other providers and further education colleges. (6) Includes pupils who have full-time attendance and are aged 15 or under, or pupils who have part-time attendance and are aged between five and 15. Note: National and regional totals have been rounded to the nearest five. Source: School Census 
		
	
	Information on the number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals as at January 2011 is published in the Statistical First Release ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2011’ available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001012/index.shtml

Priority School Building Programme

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to announce whether the Grove School in Nottinghamshire will be awarded funding under the Priority School Building Programme.

Nick Gibb: We intend to announce the outcome of applications for the Priority School Building Programme later this month.
	The Priority School Building Programme is targeted at those schools with the most urgent building condition issues. There has been significant interest in the programme and to ensure that investment is targeted where it is most needed, we are carefully assessing and reviewing each application, including making site visits to check the building condition of all schools that applied.

Home Education: Reading (Berkshire)

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children registered to be schooled at home are residents of Reading West constituency.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education does not hold information on the number of children registered to be schooled at home in the Reading West constituency.

Mathematics: Curriculum

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to improve the quality of mathematics teaching in schools.

Nick Gibb: Good quality mathematics teaching in schools is fundamental to improving attainment. We are increasing the number and quality of mathematics teachers with bursaries of up to £20,000 to attract the best mathematics graduates into teaching and we are expanding participation in the Teach First scheme. We will be prioritising places on primary Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses in 2012/13 that offer specialisms in mathematics. For 2013/14, we expect to adjust financial incentives for trainees to reward trainees on specialist primary courses with a good A-level in mathematics. We are also continuing to support the Maths Specialist Teacher (MaST) programme to improve primary mathematics teachers' mathematical subject knowledge and expertise. We are providing £6 million over three years to fund the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) to coordinate and quality assure continuing professional development (CPD) activities for mathematics teachers at both primary and secondary phases. We are currently undertaking a review of the National Curriculum at primary and secondary level in order to provide children with the essential mathematical knowledge they need.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much each school in Reading West constituency received in funding from the pupil premium in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and how much each is expected to receive in 2012-13.

Sarah Teather: The Pupil Premium was introduced in April 2011 and allocations have so far been confirmed for the 2011-12 financial year only. Final allocations for 2012-13 will be confirmed shortly.
	For 2011-12, the Pupil Premium funding is: £488 per pupil in respect of pupils known to be eligible for Free School Meals (FSM), and for children in care who have been continuously looked after for at least six months; and £200 per pupil for those whose parents are serving in the armed forces.
	In 2012-13, the Pupil Premium rises to £600 per pupil in respect of pupils known to have been eligible for FSM at any point within the last six years, and for children in care who have been continuously looked after for at least six months. The Pupil Premium for children whose parents are in the armed services will rise to £250 per pupil.
	Allocations for each school in the Reading West constituency for 2011-12 are shown in the following table. It is not possible to present at school level eligible Looked after Children, service children and FSM pupils recorded on the Alternative Provision census. This is because of the way data are collected for these pupils and for data protection reasons. The total Pupil Premium for schools in Reading West in 2011-12 is £1.375 million and the estimated allocation for 2012-13 is £2.294 million.
	
		
			 State-funded primary, secondary and special schools, and pupil referral units (1,2,3,4) : number of pupils eligible for the pupil premium in 2011/12 (5,6) : Reading West 
			 URN School name Allocation for the deprivation pupil premium 2011/12 (7,8)  (£) 
			 109844 Birch Copse Primary School 8,296 
			 109845 Westwood Farm Junior School 5,856 
			 109853 Long Lane Primary School 9,272 
			 109864 Westwood Farm Infant School 2,928 
			 109866 Springfield Primary School 6,344 
			 109896 Downsway Primary School 7,320 
			 109898 Kennet Valley Primary School 13,176 
			 109931 Calcot Infant School and Nursery 15,616 
			 109932 Calcot Junior School 11,712 
			 109940 Pangbourne Primary School 7,808 
			 109971 Purley C.E. Infant School (9)— 
			 109980 Theale C.E. Primary School 9,760 
			 110006 St Paul's Catholic Primary School 3,904 
			 110063 Little Heath School 42,944 
			 110065 Theale Green Community School 39,040 
			 110100 Denefield School 53,192 
			 110186 Brookfields Special School (10)— 
			 134984 Cranbury College (10)— 
			 109777 Battle Primary School 66,856 
			 109779 Coley Primary School 14,640 
			 109781 Geoffrey Field Junior School 43,432 
			 109782 Geoffrey Field Infant School 30,256 
			 109786 Oxford Road Community School 30,256 
			 109790 Park Lane Primary School 18,056 
			 109791 Whitley Park Junior School 64,416 
			 109792 Whitley Park Infant and Nursery School 59,048 
			 109793 Wilson Primary School 21,960 
			 109795 Southcote Primary School 31,232 
			 109796 St Michael's Primary School 31,232 
			 109797 Churchend Primary School 15,128 
			 109799 Moorlands Primary School 50,264 
			 109801 Upcroft Primary School 55,632 
			 109939 Ranikhet Primary School 38,064 
			 109944 Manor Primary School 34,160 
			 109945 All Saints Church of England Aided Infant School (9)— 
			 110002 St Mary and All Saints Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School 55,144 
			 110004 English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School 23,424 
			 110005 Christ The King Catholic Primary School 38,064 
			 110106 Prospect School 115,656 
			 110107 Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School 53,192 
			 130247 John Madejski Academy 171,288 
		
	
	
		
			 110179 The Avenue School (10)— 
			 110193 The Holy Brook School (10)— 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies. (4) Includes maintained special schools, excludes general hospital schools and non-maintained special schools. (5) The number of eligible Looked After Children and FSM pupils recorded on the Alternative Provision census are not included in school level tables (although are eligible for the pupil premium) as they are taken from local authority returns. (6) The number of service children are not provided at school level due to data protection issues. (7) Full time equivalent (FTE) number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals in year groups R-11, (where National Curriculum year groups do not apply pupils aged four to 15). For all those aged five and over includes sole or dual main registrations only. In Pupil Referral Units, FTE pupils aged four (all registration types) and headcount of pupils aged five to 15 (sole or dual main registrations as well as pupils who are registered with other providers and further education colleges) known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals. (8) Each FSM eligible pupil will attract £488 through the pupil premium. For pupils in maintained primary and secondary schools funding will be passed to schools via the local authorities. Academies will receive funding from the YPLA. For pupils in maintained special schools and PRU's funding will be allocated to local authorities to decide whether to pass on funding to the education setting or to hold back funding to manage centrally for the benefit of those pupils it has responsibility for. (9) Less than five pupils or a percentage based on less than five pupils or an allocation amount based on less than five pupils. (10) Allocations for these schools are not included as they are either a maintained special school or PRU. The premium for these establishments is held with the local authority (please see the conditions of grant).

Schools: Hygiene

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment has been made of the effect of removing the requirement for schools to provide a certain number of washing facilities for a given number of pupils.

Nick Gibb: While not specifying a specific ratio of wash basins to numbers of pupils, the proposed school premises regulations stress that suitable toilet and washing facilities must be provided for pupils, having regard to, among other factors, their number. To assess the impact of this simplification, in the public consultation on the regulations we asked whether or not respondents agreed that the wording of the proposed standard adequately covered requirements. Responses to this question are being taken into account in finalising details of the regulation.

Schools: Hygiene

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether schools will be obliged to provide soap and drying facilities in school toilets when the school premises regulations are revised.

Nick Gibb: The proposed school premises regulations do not include specific requirements for soap and drying facilities in school toilets, but they do require that the toilet and washing facilities provided should be suitable for pupils to use. They also contain a regulation covering the health, safety and welfare of pupils. It is difficult to see how a school could meet these standards without providing suitable means for pupils to wash and dry their hands.

Supply Teachers

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will estimate the number of supply teachers that have been in posts replacing one full-time teacher for over one academic year.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Supply Teachers

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what recent discussions his Department has had on supply teacher agencies;
	(2)  how many complaints his Department received in respect of supply teacher agencies in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education has a Quality Mark scheme for supply teacher agencies which is administered by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). The Quality Mark sets minimum standards for agencies and LAs which apply to the way they recruit and interview supply teachers and monitor and manage their performance. The Department meets regularly with the REC to discuss the operation of the scheme and to consider issues arising.
	The responsibility for investigating complaints made against teacher supply agencies is a matter for the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) where there is a breach of the Department's Quality Mark standards or the Department for Business Innovation and Skills' Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EASI) where there is a possible breach of the law.
	In the calendar year 2011, the REC received 21 complaints about supply teacher agencies. In 2010/11, the EASI handled 62 complaints and targeted inspections relating to teachers and tutors.

Teachers: Training

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding he plans to make available for the Graduate Teaching Programme for (a) students undertaking placements and (b) schools offering placements in the academic year (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.

Nick Gibb: The funding for the Graduate Teacher Programme consists of two parts: funding for the training provider to deliver the training programme (the training grant, which includes the salary grant administration fee) and funding to support the school's costs in employing the trainee (the salary grant). For academic year 2012/13 we will make £60.1 million available for salary grant and £23.7 million for training grant. Funding for the Graduate Teacher Programme beyond the 2012/13 academic year is yet to be decided.

Teachers: Training

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding was available through the Graduate Teaching Programme for (a) students undertaking placements and (b) schools offering placements in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The funding for the Graduate Teacher Programme consists of two parts: funding for the training provider to deliver the training programme (the training grant, which includes the salary grant administration fee) and funding to support the school's costs in employing the trainee (the salary grant).
	The units of funding (at national rates) for both of these areas are as follows:
	
		
			 Academic year Salary grant (£) Training grant (£) 
			 2007-08 14,000 4,920 
			 2008-09 14,200 5,220 
			 2009-10 14,500 5,330 
			 2010-11 13,500 5,330 
			 2011-12 13,500 5,330 
		
	
	The total funding allocated for the programme is as follows:
	
		
			 Academic year Salary grant (£ million) Training grant (£ million) 
			 2007-08 63.5 24.9 
			 2008-09 63.8 24.6 
			 2009-10 63.3 24.1 
			 2010-11 56 22.8 
			 2011-12 65.9 25.8

Telephone Services

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many call centres provide services for his Department and the bodies for which he is responsible; and how many such call centres are based abroad.

Tim Loughton: The Department provides a contact centre which operates as the Department's national inquiry line and switchboard service, which is not based abroad. The Department, including its executive agencies, has responsibility for a number of other helplines, none of which are based abroad.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Accountancy

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many members of staff working for his Department had a recognised accountancy qualification in each of the last three years; and how many such staff (a) have the Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) qualification and (b) are working towards a recognised accountancy qualification.

Norman Lamb: For financial year (FY) 2010/11 the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) had 55 staff with a recognised accountancy qualification, six of which held the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) (ACA) qualification.
	In FY 2011/12 BIS had 69 staff with a recognised accountancy qualification, 11 of which held the ICAEW (ACA) qualification.
	BIS has 11 staff currently working towards a recognised accountancy qualification which we are funding.

Apprentices

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the proportion of work contracts offered to apprentices at the end of their training that have been full-time in the last two years.

John Hayes: A survey of apprentices (published 15 May 2012) shows that 85% of apprentices who completed their apprenticeship in the last 12 months were employed by an employer at the time of the survey, with a further 4% being self-employed.
	64% were with the same employer and 21% were with a different employer. We do not know if those who changed employer were offered permanent full-time contracts or not. They may have moved by choice.
	Of the 85% who were employed by an employer 13% were part time (working under 30 hours a week) and 72% were full time.

Apprentices: South West

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprentice starts there were for 16 to 18-year-olds in (a) Newton Abbot constituency and (b) the south-west in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011.

John Hayes: Table 1 shows the number of apprenticeship programme starts aged under 19 in Newton Abbot parliamentary constituency, the south-west region and England for academic years 2009/10 to 2010/11, the latest full year for which final data are available.
	
		
			 Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts by learners aged under 19 by geography, 2009/10 to 2010/11 (full years) 
			  2009/10 2010/11 
			 Newton Abbot constituency 200 230 
			 South West region 12,620 12,850 
			 England total 116,800 131,700 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 except for England totals which are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Age is based on age at the start of the programme. These figures include a small number of under 16-year-olds. 3. Geography is based upon the home postcode of the learner. The England totals include some postcodes which are not known. Geographic information is based on boundaries of regions as of May 2010. Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Information on the number of apprenticeship starts by age is published in a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 29 March 2012:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statistical firstrelease/sfr_current

Business: North West

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many UK-owned low carbon businesses are based in (a) Liverpool city region, (b) the north-west and (c) nationally.

Mark Prisk: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has made no estimates for the number of UK-owned low carbon businesses that are based in Liverpool, the north-west or nationally. However, an independent study by K-Matrix, commissioned by BIS has estimated that there were around 2,700 companies operating in the low carbon sector in the north-west in 2009/10. Estimates for the number of companies operating in the low carbon sector for the UK as a whole were almost 26,000 for the same period. These estimates include companies operating across the wider low carbon sector supply chain. It is not possible to determine from these data how many of these firms are UK owned.

Community Interest Companies: Greater London

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many community interest companies were registered in (a) the London borough of Bexley and (b) London in the latest period for which figures are available.

Norman Lamb: In the latest period for which figures are available there is one community interest company shown as registered in the London borough of Bexley and there are 1,013 community interest companies registered in London. This information will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	However, these figures are not definitive as Companies House's data are extracted primarily from post code areas, which can cross county boundaries.

Community Interest Companies: Sussex

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will place in the Library a list of the community interest companies registered in (a) Mid Sussex and (b) West Sussex.

Norman Lamb: A list of the 50 community interest companies (CICS) registered in West Sussex will be placed in the Libraries of the House. Companies House's records do not show any CICS being registered in Mid Sussex. However, these figures are not definitive as Companies House's data are extracted primarily from post code areas, which can cross county boundaries.

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) grants and (b) contracts his Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who were previously employed in any capacity by (i) the Conservative Party or its elected representatives and (ii) the Liberal Democrat Party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised.

Norman Lamb: We do not request this type of information as part of our (a) grant award and (b) contract award processes and as a consequence the Department does not hold this information.

Consumer Focus

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with interested parties on the new arrangements for the responsibilities of Consumer Focus.

Norman Lamb: In both the lead up to our announcement in April 2012 and while considering the way forward last year, I and my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, have met jointly and separately with those stakeholders with a key interest in our proposals to change and streamline the consumer landscape, including Citizens Advice, Consumer Focus and Which?

Consumer Focus and Office of Fair Trading

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding his Department provided to (a) Consumer Focus and (b) the Office of Fair Trading in the latest period for which figures are available.

Norman Lamb: In the financial year 2011-12, BIS provided £11,229,000 funding to Consumer Focus. In the same financial year BIS has so far provided the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) with funding of £555,769.58 to end-December 2011. BIS funding to OFT pays for the cost of energy and postal calls and contacts received by Consumer Direct. A final quarter payment to OFT covering the period January to March 2012 is expected to be in the region of £200,000 once final out-turn call figures for that quarter are confirmed.

Credit

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to ensure that oversight of consumer credit is maintained during the proposed transition to the Financial Conduct Authority; and what steps he is taking to ensure that unscrupulous lenders or debt management providers cannot profit from the changes.

Norman Lamb: The Government are committed to ensuring the continued effectiveness of consumer credit regulation during the transition to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The Office of Fair Trading remains responsible for regulating consumer credit during the transition and it will continue its important work to tackle those practices that cause harm to consumers and to drive up standards in the market. This work includes the recently published revised guidance on the standards it expects from firms offering debt advice or credit repair services to debtors and the review of payday lenders' compliance with its Irresponsible Lending Guidance.

Groceries Code Adjudicator

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his proposed Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill will include provisions for the submission of (a) third party evidence and (b) evidence given anonymously.

Norman Lamb: The Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill allows for the adjudicator to consider third party evidence, both when deciding whether to initiate an investigation and as part of an ongoing investigation. The Bill also requires the adjudicator to protect the confidentiality of complainants.

Groceries Code Adjudicator

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) officials in his Department have had to discuss the proposed Groceries Code Adjudicator.

Norman Lamb: I have met with representatives of both suppliers and retailers to discuss the proposed Groceries Code Adjudicator, as well as discussing it with hon. Members and Peers, most recently at a parliamentary briefing session on 14 May 2012. BIS officials have similarly met with representatives of suppliers and retailers and with officials elsewhere in Government with an interest in the proposed adjudicator.

Groceries Code Adjudicator

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his proposed Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill will include provisions for retailers to be fined if they do not comply with the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.

Norman Lamb: The Bill includes a provision allowing the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), to make an Order giving the adjudicator the power to fine. This will allow financial penalties to be introduced if the Secretary of State does not consider the adjudicator's other powers to have been sufficient to uphold the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.

Overseas Trade

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the survey by the British Chambers of Commerce entitled “Exporting is Good for Britain: Social Connections”, what steps his Department plans to take to encourage collaboration and networking of UK businesses with international partners.

Mark Prisk: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the Government Department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy and assists overseas companies to bring their high quality investment to the UK.
	The economic rationale for UKTI services includes acting as an intermediary in identifying international partners for UK businesses. Therefore, its activities, services, help and advice, both in the UK and overseas, are geared towards helping UK companies to collaborate and network with international partners.
	UKTI has a major role to play in helping to deliver the Government's ambition to get 100,000 more UK businesses exporting, and to increase to £1 trillion the value of UK exports by 2020. But UKTI cannot deliver its contribution to this objective alone, and therefore is working with a range of delivery partners and other private sector organisations, including the British Chambers of Commerce, to reach out to many more businesses in the UK.
	Details of what more UKTI is planning to do are set out in its strategy “Britain Open for Business”, which was launched in May 2011. The UKTI website gives further information on UKTI services and its strategy:
	www.ukti.gov.uk

Railways: Radlett

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the answers of 1 May 2012, Official Report, columns 1401-2, on railways: freight and railways: Radlett, which private company contacted the Department regarding the Radlett strategic railfreight interchange; who attended the roundtable with representatives with the logistics sector; and whether the Radlett railfreight interchange was discussed at the roundtable with representatives from the logistics sector.

Mark Prisk: In November 2011, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable) received correspondence about the St Albans Strategic Railfreight Interchange from Community Connect Ltd, on behalf of their client Helioslough.
	Aside from officials, representatives from the following companies attended the roundtable in August 2011:
	Ford
	Bibby Distribution
	Kimberley Clarke Corporation
	Skills for Logistics
	Goodman
	Wincanton
	Nisa-Todays
	Wilson James
	Nissan.
	The Radlett Railfreight Interchange was not discussed.

Supermarkets: Competition

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent representations he has received on potential improvements to the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.

Norman Lamb: The Office of Fair Trading oversees the Groceries Supply Code of Practice and representations regarding changes to it should be made to them. Issues relating to the Groceries Supply Code of Practice have been raised as part of my discussions on the Groceries Code Adjudicator with suppliers, retailers, hon. Members and peers.

Technology: Greater London

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the progress made by the East London Tech City.

Mark Prisk: A full assessment of the objectives and results of UKTI's Tech City Investment Organisation is given in its impact report dated May 2012:
	https://www.techcityuk.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/TCIO_Impact_Report.pdf
	I will place a copy of the report in the Libraries of the House.

Telephone Services

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many call centres provide services for his Department and the bodies for which he is responsible; and how many such call centres are based abroad.

Norman Lamb: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has one call centre, situated in London, which answers all calls for the Department and for UK Trade and Investment and the UK Space Agency.
	All other BIS partner organisations, of which there are 56, have their own local facilities for receiving calls, all based in the UK.

UK Export Finance

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the names are of all existing and past clients of UK Export Finance for which records are available.

Norman Lamb: Clients are companies for which UK Export Finance has supported an export contract through the provision of credit insurance or guarantees to banks who provide loans to finance export contracts by UK exporters.
	The following information lists clients since 2000-01 financial year to date. For reasons of commercial confidentiality, some clients have been withheld.
	Exporter
	Aedas Architects Ltd
	Aeromatic Fielder Ltd
	Air Products plc
	Airbus Financial Services
	Alderley Systems Ltd
	Alexander Dennis Ltd
	Alstom Power Ltd
	Alvis plc
	Angloco Ltd
	Apollo Sheeters Ltd
	Asmag UK Ltd
	Astrium Ltd
	BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd
	Balcke Marley UK Ltd
	Balfour Beatty Construction International Ltd
	Battenfeld Gloucester Europe Ltd
	Bombardier Incorporated
	BP Exploration (Caspian Sea) Ltd
	Brackett Green Ltd
	Brecknell, Willis & Co. Ltd
	Caley Ocean Systems Ltd
	Capital Valves Ltd
	Carillion Construction Ltd
	Caterpillar UK Ltd
	Cementation Skanska
	Chinook Sciences Ltd
	Cleveland Potash Ltd
	Clyde Union Holdings
	Contained Air Solutions Ltd
	Corus UK Ltd
	Cri Catalyst Company UK Ltd
	Crown Agents Services Ltd
	Dennis Specialist Vehicles Ltd
	Diamond Offshore Drilling UK Ltd
	Doncasters Middle East Ltd
	Dunlop Oil & Marine Ltd
	ES Group Ltd
	Europa Crown Ltd
	European Marine Contractors Ltd
	Fairbak Brearley Ltd
	Faun Municipal Vehicles Ltd
	Fernau Avionics Ltd
	Findel Education Ltd
	FIRA International Ltd
	Fitzpatrick Contractors Ltd
	Flakt Woods Ltd
	Fluor Ltd
	Foster Wheeler (GB) Ltd
	Gall Thomson Environmental plc
	Gateway (Textile) Ltd
	GEA Process Engineering Ltd
	Gentec Energy plc
	Graham & Brown Ltd
	Greys Exports Ltd
	Guralp Systems Ltd
	Hawker Beechcraft Inc.
	Hydroflow Europe Ltd
	Invsat Ltd
	John Gordon Ltd
	Johnson Matthey plc
	Joy Mining Machinery Ltd
	Kellogg Brown & Root Ltd
	Kelton Engineering Ltd
	Kier International Ltd
	Koch Chemical Technology Group Ltd
	Lagan International Ltd
	Leafield Logistics And Technical Services Ltd
	M W Kellogg Ltd
	Mabey & Johnson Ltd
	MAN B&W Diesel Ltd
	MAN Ltd
	Marlborough Communications Ltd
	Martin-Baker Aircraft Company Ltd
	MBDA UK Ltd
	Mivan Ltd
	Motherwell Bridge Engineering Ltd
	Motorola Ltd
	MRB Schumag Ltd
	Northey Technologies Ltd
	NSG Exports Ltd
	Odebrecht Oil and Gas Services Ltd
	Omega Foundry Machinery Ltd
	Perry Slingsby Systems Ltd
	Pipeline Tube And Casing Ltd
	PW Ltd
	Reviss Services UK Ltd
	Rolls Wood Group (Repair and Overhaul) Ltd
	Rolls-Royce plc
	Salzgitter Mannesmann UK Ltd
	Saywell International Ltd
	Securon (Amersham) Ltd
	Sedgewall Communications Group Ltd
	Sembcorp Simon-Carves Ltd
	Shell Research Ltd
	Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery Ltd
	Sir William Halcrow & Partners Ltd
	SLP Engineering Ltd
	SMS Mevac UK Ltd
	Snamprogetti Ltd
	Stage Technologies
	Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd
	Telspec Europe Ltd
	TES (NI) Ltd
	Tetronics Ltd
	Thales ATM Ltd
	The Football Association Premier League Ltd
	Traffic Safety Systems Ltd
	UTM Ltd
	VAI Industries Ltd
	Vikoma International Ltd
	Voith Paper Ltd
	Volvo Bus Exports (U.K.) Ltd
	VT Shipbuilding International Ltd
	VWS Westgarth Ltd
	Weir Westgarth Ltd
	Wellstream Ltd
	Welltrade Services Ltd
	WRG Creative Communications Ltd
	York International Ltd

UK Export Finance

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much UK Export Finance has paid out as liability in each year for which figures are available.

Norman Lamb: Liability is sums paid out to exporters and banks by the Export Credits Guarantee Department in respect of claims made under credit insurance policies and bank guarantees. The following table lists claims paid by financial year since 1991/92 to date.
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Financial year Account 2 (Business supported since 1991) Account 1 (Business supported prior to 1991) 
			 1991/92 0 954 
			 1992/93 0 734 
			 1993/94 3 509 
			 1994/95 29 393 
			 1995/96 25 270 
			 1996/97 32 205 
			 1997/98 17 142 
			 1998/99 45 98 
			 1999/2000 214 81 
		
	
	
		
			 2000/01 254 44 
			 2001/02 223 27 
			 2002/03 226 36 
			 2003/04 205 12 
			 2004/05 89 0 
			 2005/06 79 5 
			 2006/07 61 0 
			 2007/08 59 0 
			 2008/09 44 0 
			 2009/10 48 0 
			 2010/11 30 0 
			 2011/12 6 0 
			    
			 Total since 1 April 1991 -1,689 -3,510

UK Export Finance

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the economic benefit to the UK of applications for UK Export Finance support.

Norman Lamb: No recent assessment has been made of the economic benefit of the Export Credits Guarantee Department's (ECGD), support to the UK. ECGD's statutory function is to support exports and overseas investment and in doing so it enables companies to fulfil export contracts which help secure employment and create wealth, including companies in the supply chains of those exporters who directly receive support. In the last 10 years, ECGD has met financial objectives set for it by HM Treasury.

CABINET OFFICE

Cancer

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the (a) incidence, (b) mortality and (c) survival rates are for (i) primary, (ii) secondary and (iii) low-grade cancers of the brain and central nervous system.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated May 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the (a) incidence, (b) mortality and (c) survival rates are for (i) primary, (ii) secondary and (iii) low-grade cancers of the brain and central nervous system.
	Detailed information about secondary and low-grade cancers are not routinely recorded on individual cancer registrations sent to ONS for processing and publishing as National Statistics. For this reason it is not possible to:
	1) Provide (a) incidence, (b) mortality and (c) survival rates for (ii) secondary cancers of the brain and central nervous system.
	2) Provide (a) incidence, (b) mortality and (c) survival rates for (iii) low grade cancers of the brain and central nervous system.
	ONS publish one and five-year cancer relative survival (percentage) for England, for the 21 common cancers. Cancer of the central nervous system is not one of the 21 common cancers, therefore survival figures for the central nervous system are not routinely available.
	Tables 1 and 2 provide the latest (a) age standardised incidence rates and (b) age standardised mortality rates for (i) primary cancers of the brain and central nervous system, for persons resident in England. Table 3 provides the latest one- and five-year survival figures for brain cancer, also for persons resident in England.
	The latest published figures on incidence of cancer in England are available on the National Statistics website:
	ixhttp://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html? definition=tcm%3A77-27451
	The latest published figures on cancer mortality in England and Wales are available on the National Statistics website:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/mortality-statistics--deaths-registered-in-england-and-wales--series-dr-/index.html
	The latest published figures on cancer survival in England are available on the National Statistics website:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html? definition=tcm%3A77-21521
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of newly diagnosed cases and incidence rates (with 95% confidence intervals) for malignant neoplasm of the brain and central nervous system, England, 2010 (1,2,3,4,5) 
			  Rate Lower confidence interval Upper confidence interval Cases 
			 Malignant neoplasm of brain 6.44 6.24 6.64 3,935 
			 Malignant neoplasm of spinal cord, cranial nerves and other parts of central nervous system 0.19 0.15 0.23 98 
			 (1)Figures are for cases registered in the calendar year and exclude non-residents. (2) Cancer of the brain and the central nervous system was defined using the International Classification of Diseases: Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C71 and C72 respectively. (3) Age-standardised rates per 100,000 population, standardised to the European Standard Population. Age-standardised rates are used to allow comparison between populations which may contain different proportions of people of different ages. (4 )Confidence intervals are a measure of the statistical precision of an estimate and show the range of uncertainty around the estimated figure. Calculations based on small numbers of events are often subject to random fluctuations. As a general rule, if the confidence interval around one figure overlaps with the interval around another, we cannot say with certainty that there is more than a chance difference between the two figures. (5) Figures are based on boundaries as of February 2012. Source: Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of deaths and mortality rates (with 95% confidence intervals) for malignant neoplasm of the brain and central nervous system, England, 2010 (1,2,3,4,5) 
			  Rate Lower confidence interval Upper confidence interval Deaths 
			 Malignant neoplasm of brain 5.01 4.83 5.18 3,200 
			 Malignant neoplasm of spinal cord, cranial nerves and other parts of central nervous system 0.03 0.01 0.04 16 
			 (1) Figures are for deaths registered in the calendar year and exclude non-residents. (2 )Underlying cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases. Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C7I and C72. (3)Age-standardised rates per 100,000 population, standardised to the European Standard Population. Age-standardised rates are used to allow comparison between populations which may contain different proportions of people of different ages. (4) Confidence intervals are a measure of the statistical precision of an estimate and show the range of uncertainty around the estimated figure. Calculations based on small numbers of events are often subject to random fluctuations. As a general rule, if the confidence interval around one figure overlaps with the interval around another, we cannot say with certainty that there is more than a chance difference between the two figures. (5) Figures are based on boundaries as of February 2012. Source: Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			     One-year survival Five-year survival 
			 Cancer Sex Age group Number of patients % 95%C1 % 95%CI 
			 Brain Persons Age-standardised 17,060 41.5 40.8 42.2 (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			   Un-standardised  35.7 34.9 36.4 15.2 14.5 15.9 
			   15-39 2,159 84.8 83.2 86.2 56.7 53.9 59.4 
			   40-49 1,826 65.2 63.0 67.4 33.1 30.4 35.9 
			   50-59 3,087 44.6 42.8 46.3 10.7 9.2 12.2 
			   60-69 4,323 27.3 26.0 28.7 5.3 4.4 6.4 
			   70-79 3,741 9.0 8.1 10.0 2.0 1.4 2.7 
			   80-99 1,924 3.3 2.6 4.2 (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 (1) ( )Not possible to estimate. Notes: 1. Relative survival is the probability of survival (shown here as a percentage) after correction for other causes of death. 2. Because cancer survival varies with age at diagnosis, the summary survival estimates for all ages combined (15-99 years) have been age-standardised to control for changes in the age profile of cancer patients over time. 3. Brain cancer was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C7I. 4. Confidence intervals are a measure of the statistical precision of an estimate and show the range of uncertainty around the estimated figure. Calculations based on small numbers of events are often subject to random fluctuations. As a general rule, if the confidence interval around one figure overlaps with the interval around another, we cannot say with certainty that there is more than a chance difference between the two figures. 5. It is not possible to give an age-standardised figure if there are too few patients in a given age group to provide a reliable survival estimate or if very few patients actually died in one of the intervals of time since diagnosis in which survival was estimated. That may happen because survival is very high (there are very few deaths) or because it is very low (most of the patients died). These figures refer to the unstandardised survival. Source: Office for National Statistics and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Government Departments

Ian Austin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which Government offices, locations and facilities based in the UK have over 1,000 registered members of staff.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated May 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking which Government offices, locations and facilities have over 1,000 registered members of staff and are based in the UK.
	Civil Service Statistics are published annually by the Office for National Statistics on the National Statistics website. Statistics relating to the Civil Service are available, with complete coverage of the Civil Service, from 2007 through to 2011 inclusive.
	Two Excel spreadsheets have been provided, copies of which have been placed in the libraries of the House, containing information about Government departments with a headcount of over 1,000 employees and geographical locations where Government departments have a headcount of over 1,000 employees.

Government Departments: Databases

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether the G-Cloud service will be comparable in terms of (a) security and (b) availability to the services it will replace.

Francis Maude: The G-Cloud programme will not be replacing any services as it is not a single, Government- owned, entity.

Government Departments: Databases

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to the answer of 30 April 2012, Official Report, column 1175W, on Government Departments: databases, what the time frame is for the delivery of savings of £340 million by the G-Cloud programme.

Francis Maude: The savings of £340 million will be delivered over the spending review period.

Government Departments: ICT

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office on what date he expects to publish his Green ICT Strategy Report.

Francis Maude: Shortly.

Households: Expenditure

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much of the expenditure of an average household was made up of expenditure on self-storage facilities, hot and cold food consumed on the supplier's premises, sports drinks and holiday caravans in the last period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated May 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking Her Majesty's Government how much expenditure of an average household is made up of expenditure on self-storage facilities, hot and cold food consumed on the supplier's premises, sports drinks and holiday caravans. (108013)
	The categorisation used by the Living Costs and Food Survey does not allow expenditure to be presented exactly as asked. The closest available category to spending on storage facilities is: moving and storage of furniture, which is defined as one of the expenses associated with moving house. Average household weekly expenditure in this category was estimated at £0.30 in 2010.
	Average household expenditure on restaurant and cafe meals (including soft drinks) was £14.00 per week. Expenditure on canteens, including school meals and meals bought and eaten in the workplace, including soft drinks, was £1.80 per week. Combining these categories gives a total of £15.80 spent.
	Sports drinks are not separately categorised, and the closest available category is expenditure on soft drinks. Average weekly household expenditure on soft drinks bought from take away venues was £0.80, and from shops and other outlets for consumption off premises was £1.80, giving a total of £2.60. It should be noted that these figures exclude expenditure on soft drinks bought in restaurants and cafes.
	The closest available category to expenditure on holiday caravans is expenditure on: purchase of caravans and mobile homes (including decoration). Expenditure on this category averaged £1.80 in 2010.
	These estimates are based on data from the Living Costs and Food Survey, an annual survey of approximately 5,000 private households in the UK. As the survey covers only private households, people living in hostels, hotels, boarding houses or institutions are excluded.
	The estimate, as with any involving sample surveys, is subject to a margin of uncertainty.

Life Expectancy

Frank Field: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what projections have been made of life expectancy for (a) males at birth, (b) males at current pensionable age, (c) females at birth and (d) females at current pensionable age for each of the next five decades.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated 16 May 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 1 have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question to the Minister for the Cabinet Office, asking what projections have been made of life expectancy for (a) males at birth, (b) males at current pensionable age, (c) females at birth and (d) females at current pensionable age for each of the next five decades. (108306).
	Every two years, ONS produces projected period and cohort life expectancy figures for the UK and its constituent countries, based on assumptions for future mortality from the national population projections.
	A period life expectancy figure is the average number of additional years a person would live if he or she experienced the age-specific mortality rates of the given area and time period for the rest of their life. So a period life expectancy does not assume improvements in mortality rates after the reference year, whereas a cohort life expectancy takes such improvements into account. For example, period life expectancy at age 60 in 2020 is worked out using the projected mortality rate for age 60 in 2020, for age 61 in 2020, for age 62 in 2020, and so on. Cohort life expectancy is worked out using the projected mortality rate for age 60 in 2020, for age 61 in 2021, for age 62 in 2022, and so on. As with any projection into the future, the further from the projection base year the more uncertain the figures become.
	As well as the principal (central) projection ONS also produces two mortality variant projections, “high life expectancy” and “low life expectancy”, with different assumptions about future improvements in mortality. These variant assumptions are intended as plausible alternatives to the principal assumptions and are not upper or lower limits for future life expectancy.
	The table below gives the projected period life expectancy at birth and at State Pension age (SPA) in 2010 for males and females in the United Kingdom, each decade 2010 to 2060. These life expectancy figures are from the 2010-based principal and variant projections, published in October 2011, available on the ONS website at:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html? edition=tcm%3A77-227587
	
		
			 2010-based projected period life expectancy, selected years, United Kingdom 
			 Years 
			  At birth Age 65 (SPA (1) ) 
			  Low Principal High Low Principal High 
			 Males       
			 2010 78.5 78.5 78.5 18.1 18.1 18.1 
			 2020 80.2 80.8 81.5 19.7 20.2 20.6 
			 2030 81.0 82.7 84.3 20.3 21.6 22.9 
			 2040 81.0 84.1 87.1 20.4 22.7 25.0 
			 2050 81.0 85.4 89.8 20.4 23.7 27.3 
			 2060 81.1 86.8 92.5 20.4 24.8 29.5 
		
	
	
		
			  At birth Age 60 (SPA (1) ) 
			  Low Principal High Low Principal High 
			 Females   
			 2010 82.4 82.4 82.4 24.9 24.9 24.9 
			 2020 84.1 84.5 84.9 26.5 26.8 27.1 
			 2030 85.3 86.3 87.3 27.5 28.4 29.2 
			 2040 85.5 87.6 89.8 27.7 29.5 31.3 
			 2050 85.5 88.8 92.2 27.7 30.5 33.5 
			 2060 85.5 90.1 94.6 27.7 31.6 35.7 
			 (1 )SPA = state pension age at March 2010.

Local Government: Procurement

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether his Department is taking steps to require local authorities to publish procurement contracts on the Contracts Finder website.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office has been working closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government to assist with embedding the use of Contracts Finder within local authorities, and to raise awareness of it.
	Since January 2011, central Government Departments have been required to publish on Contracts Finder information on the contracts they award.
	Local authorities are not required, but are encouraged, to use Contracts Finder.

Malnutrition

Andy Burnham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many patients died of malnutrition in NHS hospitals in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated May 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many patients died of malnutrition in NHS hospitals in each of the last 10 years. (107692)
	The following tables provide the numbers of deaths in-NHS hospitals where (a) malnutrition was the underlying cause of death (Table 1), and (b) malnutrition or ‘effects of hunger' was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, either as the underlying cause or as a contributory factor (Table 2), in England and Wales between 2001 and 2010 (the latest available year).
	Malnutrition may be recorded as the underlying cause of death, but this is a rare occurrence. The ‘effects of hunger' is never recorded as the underlying cause of death, because it is defined by the International Classification of Diseases as a ‘secondary cause' only. Consequently, deaths with any mention of either of these causes on the death certificate have been provided.
	The number of deaths registered in England and Wales each year by sex, age, cause, marital status and place of death are published annually and are available here:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html? definition=tcm%3A77-27475
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of deaths that occurred in NHS hospitals where the underlying cause was malnutrition, England and Wales 2001-2010 (1,2,3,4) 
			  Deaths 
			 2001 45 
			 2002 56 
			 2003 51 
			 2004 45 
			 2005 45 
			 2006 59 
			 2007 53 
			 2008 42 
			 2009 57 
			 2010 48 
			 (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes E40-E46 'Malnutrition'. (2) NHS hospitals include acute or community hospitals but not psychiatric hospitals. (3) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non residents. (4) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of deaths that occurred in NHS hospitals where malnutrition or effects of hunger were mentioned on the death certificate, England and Wales 2001-2010 (1,2,3,4) 
			  Mentions 
			 2001 195 
			 2002 253 
			 2003 225 
			 2004 222 
			 2005 220 
			 2006 265 
			 2007 267 
			 2008 289 
			 2009 284 
			 2010 301 
			 (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases. Tenth Revision where (ICD-10) codes E40-E46 'Malnutrition' or T73.0 'Effects of hunger' were mentioned anywhere on the death certificate either as an underlying cause or contributor factor. (2) NHS hospitals include acute or community hospitals but not psychiatric hospitals. (3) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (4) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.

Departmental Staff

Frank Dobson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many jobs formerly in his Department and its agencies and non-departmental bodies were transferred to the private sector in 2011-12;
	(2)  how many jobs formerly in the Prime Minister's Office were transferred to the private sector in 2011-12.

Francis Maude: The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.
	No jobs were transferred from the Cabinet Office, its agencies or non-departmental bodies to the private sector during 2011-12.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what his policy is on the (a) public funding and (b) accountability of a non-departmental body which is reconstituted as a committee of experts under his Department's reforms.

Francis Maude: Reforms which reconstitute NDPBs as committees of experts are not primarily motivated by a need to make savings but by a desire to make ministers more accountable for decision making.
	Committees of experts typically do not employ staff and do not have independent budgets.

Storage

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of the expenditure of an average household was accounted for by spending on storage facilities in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply,
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated May 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the expenditure of an average household was accounted for by spending on storage facilities in the latest period for which figures are available. (107682)
	The categorisation used by the Living Costs and Food. Survey does not allow expenditure on storage facilities to be presented separately. The closest available category is: moving and storage of furniture, which is defined as one of the expenses associated with moving house, Average household weekly expenditure in this category was £0.30 in 2010. Total average weekly household expenditure was £473.60, so expenditure on moving and storage of furniture represents less than 0.1 per cent of total expenditure.
	This estimate is based on data from the Living Costs and Food Survey, an annual survey of approximately 5,000 private households in the UK. As the survey covers only private households, people living in hostels, hotels, boarding houses or institutions are excluded.
	The estimate, as with any involving sample surveys, is subject to a margin of uncertainty.

VAT

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the likely effect on (a) CPI and (b) RPI inflation of the measures in Budget 2012 relating to the imposition of VAT.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated 18 May 2012
	.
	The March 2012 budget announced that the Government would address anomalous VAT borderlines. These include the application of VAT to self-storage facilities and also, to the extent that it does not already do so, to the sale of hot food, cold food consumed on the suppliers' premises, sports drinks, holiday caravans and to the rental of hairdressers' chairs. These changes impact on the rotisserie chicken and self storage items that are included in the goods and services measured by the CPI and RPI. The estimated effects on the CPI and RPI are to add 0.03 and 0.02 percentage points to the 12-month rates in October 2012.
	ONS published this information as part of a wider release on the estimated impact on CPI and RPI of measures announced in the March 2012 budget, previous budgets and pre-budget reports. This is available at
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/cpi/estimated-effect-of-the-budget-on-consumer-prices-index-and-retail-prices-index/spring-2012/estimated-effect-of-the-2012-budget-on-consumer-prices.pdf

Voluntary Organisations

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what information his Department holds on the number of voluntary groups there were operating in Newton Abbot constituency in each of the last three years.

Nick Hurd: The Cabinet Office does not hold such information.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people waited more than (a) two hours and (b) four hours to be seen by accident and emergency staff at (i) Northwick Park Hospital, (ii) Hillingdon Hospital, (iii) St Mary's Hospital, Paddington and (iv) Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The total numbers of accident and emergency (A&E) attendances during 2010-11 for the trusts covering the specified hospitals are shown in the following table, together with figures showing duration to departure.
	
		
			 Trust name Total A&E attendances 0-120 minutes to departure 121-240 minutes to departure Over 240 minutes Unknown 
			 The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 105,925 51,287 52,482 2,156 0 
			 Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 83,624 33,137 48,245 2,150 92 
			 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 172,000 64,112 98,536 9,652 0 
			 Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust 181,770 72,377 89,066 20,137 190 
			 Source: Hospital Episode Statistics collated by the NHS Information Centre 
		
	
	The total amount of time spent in the A&E department is calculated as the difference in time from arrival at A&E to the time when the patient is discharged from A&E care. This includes being admitted to hospital, died in the department, discharged with no follow up or discharged—referred to another specialist department.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people (a) in total and (b) in each hospital in London who were admitted to accident and emergency were not seen by a doctor within four hours in the latest period for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: The information is not available in the format requested. Data for accident and emergency (A&E) attendances for individual London trusts, for overall attendances in the London strategic health authority area, and for overall attendances in England during 2010-11 are shown in the following table. All figures are for where duration to departure from A&E was greater than four hours rather than when patients were seen by a doctor.
	
		
			 Trust name Number of attendances 
			 Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust 17,090 
			 Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 4,005 
			 Bart's and the London NHS Trust 12,951 
			 Brent Urgent Care Centre—Central Middlesex Hospital 95 
			 Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust 11,487 
			 Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 2,150 
			 Croydon Health Services NHS Trust 2,433 
			 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust 13,969 
			 East London NHS Foundation Trust 24 
			 Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 4,077 
			 Greenwich Teaching PCT 22 
			 Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust 10,235 
			 Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 6,392 
			 Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust 20,137 
			 King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 6,259 
			 Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 2,430 
			 Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust 2,016 
			 Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 620 
			 Newham University Hospital NHS Trust 4,190 
			 North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 4,193 
			 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 9,652 
			 Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 5,472 
			 South London Healthcare NHS Trust 20,477 
			 St George's Healthcare NHS Trust 4,994 
			 Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 2,156 
			 The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 2,520 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 1,577 
			 Wandsworth Primary Care Trust 53 
			 West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 2,370 
			 Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust 5,409 
			 London total 179,155 
			 England total 912,829 
			 Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, Health and Social Care Information Centre

Accident and Emergency Departments: Greater London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients admitted to A&E at (a) Northwick Park hospital and (b) other hospitals in London spent time on a trolley while waiting for a bed in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The information is not collected centrally.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Greater London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many attendances there were at the accident and emergency departments run by the North West London Hospitals NHS Trust in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: During 2011-12, North West London Hospitals NHS Trust recorded a total of 210,525 attendances at accident and emergency.
	Source: Unify2 data collection WSitA&E

AIDS

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on AIDS research in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and how much he expects to spend in 2012-13.

Simon Burns: Expenditure by the Department through research programmes, research centres and units, and research training awards on research, on HIV and AIDS is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  HIV and AIDS (£ million) 
			 2010-11 4.8 
			 2011-12 4.3 
		
	
	In addition, the Department supports research on HIV and AIDS through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN). Spend on these topics cannot be disaggregated from total CRN expenditure.
	Expenditure in 2012-13 on research on HIV and AIDS depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity. The usual practice of the NIHR is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including HIV and AIDS. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the scientific quality of the proposals made.

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people of each age under the age of 16 have been treated for alcohol related health problems in each of the last five years.

Anne Milton: The information is not available in the format requested.
	The information on numbers of admissions to hospital for alcohol-related illnesses for young people under 16 is in the following table. (See conditions included in the notes.)
	This does not include treatments in the community for such illnesses, for which information is not collected centrally.
	This also does not include numbers In specialist treatment for alcohol misuse or other substance misuse. Table 4.2 of the National Treatment Agency annual report “Statistics from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS), Statistics relating to young people” December 2011, provides national figures (2005-06 to 2010-11) for under 18s treated primarily for an alcohol problem, but this information is not available broken down by age.
	A copy of the “Statistics from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS), Statistics relating to young people” December 2011 has been placed in the Library and is available at:
	www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/ypannualreport-statistical reportfinal.pdf
	
		
			 Count of finished admission episodes (FAEs) (1)  with a primary diagnosis of an alcohol related illness (2)  or a cause code of alcohol (3)  for people aged 16 and under for the years 2006-07 to 2010-11 (4) 
			 Activity in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			 Age 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 0 7 3 6 4 6 
			 1 26 24 29 25 15 
			 2 25 21 21 30 18 
			 3 15 18 11 5 7 
			 4 4 3 6 5 5 
			 5 12 6 2 5 3 
			 6 7 7 1 — 1 
			 7 5 8 6 1 3 
			 8 3 9 7 5 4 
			 9 15 12 13 7 2 
			 10 20 22 14 18 13 
			 11 68 41 51 31 32 
			 12 239 239 145 161 114 
			 13 679 628 480 481 378 
			 14 1,255 1,112 914 928 704 
		
	
	
		
			 15 1,342 1,190 977 973 773 
			 (1) Finished admissions episodes A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. (2) Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. ICD-10 Codes used: E24.4—Alcohol-induced pseudo-Cushing's syndrome F10—Mental and behavioural disorders due to the use of alcohol G31.2—Degradation of nervous system due to alcohol G62.1—Alcoholic polyneuropathy G72.1—Alcoholic myopathy I42.6—Alcoholic cardiomyopathy K29.2—Alcoholic gastritis K70—Alcoholic liver disease K86.0—Alcohol-induced chronic pancreatitis T51—Toxic effect of alcohol (3) Cause code A supplementary code that indicates the nature of any external cause of injury, poisoning or other adverse effects. Only the first external cause code which is coded within the episode is counted in HES. ICD-10 Codes used: X45—Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol X65—Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to alcohol (4) Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data, quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Z50.2—Alcohol rehabilitation Z72.1—Problems related to lifestyle, Alcohol use Data quality: HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Ambulance Services: Greater London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operational ambulances were owned by the London Ambulance Service in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how many are expected to be owned in 2012-13; and how many (i) managerial and (ii) (A) paramedics and (B) other non-managerial staff (1) worked for and (2) are expected to work for the Service.

Simon Burns: It is the responsibility of individual ambulance trusts to ensure that adequate ambulance resources are available to all patients in their area. The Department considers this is an operational matter for ambulance services.
	Information on the number of ambulances operated by each national health service ambulance trust is not held centrally.
	The following table sets out the staff numbers at the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust. It is for individual trusts to plan their work force numbers.
	
		
			 NHS hospital and community health services: Non-medical staff in the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust by main staff group and by level as at 30 September each specified year 
			 Headcount 
			  2010 2011 
			 London Ambulance Service NHS Trust 4,939 4,821 
			    
			 Qualified ambulance service staff: 3,223 3,123 
			 Manager 243 255 
			 Emergency Care Practitioner 63 2 
			 Ambulance Paramedic 1,812 1,947 
			 Ambulance Technician 1,105 919 
			    
			 Support to ambulance staff: 1,113 1,088 
			 Ambulance Personnel 525 519 
		
	
	
		
			 Trainee Ambulance Technician 57 75 
			 Clerical and administrative 531 494 
			    
			 NHS infrastructure support: 604 611 
			 Central functions 374 382 
			 Clerical and administrative 374 382 
			 Hotel, property and estates 91 91 
			 Clerical and administrative 8 6 
			 Estates (maintenance and works) 83 85 
			 Managers and senior managers 139 138 
			 Senior manager 48 48 
			 Manager 91 90 
			 Notes: 1. The drop in Emergency Care Practitioners numbers and rise in Ambulance Paramedic figures may be due to data cleansing and subsequent staff recoding. 2. Headcount totals are unlikely to equal the sum of components. 3. The new headcount methodology from 2010 onwards is not fully comparable with previous years' data due to improvements that make it a more stringent count of absolute staff numbers. Further information, on the headcount methodology is available in the Census publication at: www.ic.nhs.uk/webfiles/publications/010_Workforce/nhsstaff0010/Census_Bulletin_March_2011_Final.pdf Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce census

Cancer

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance his Department intends to issue to clinical commissioning groups to ensure that they draw upon existing expertise held within cancer networks when developing their commissioning plans;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that expertise currently held within cancer networks will not be lost following the introduction of the proposed new clinical networks structure;
	(3)  what steps he is taking to ensure that the restructuring of cancer networks to cover larger population areas will not result in a loss of the local engagement work previously undertaken by such networks;
	(4)  what steps he is taking to safeguard the future of clinical networks; and what future governance structures he proposes for such networks.

Paul Burstow: We have made it clear that there is a role for clinical networks, such as cancer networks, in the reformed national health service. The networks are a place where clinicians from different sectors come together to improve the quality of care across integrated pathways and are a clear example of how this way of working delivers better quality care.
	The review of clinical networks, including cancer networks, that is currently under way is considering the functions, structures and governance that will most effectively support commissioners to improve outcomes for patients. The NHS Commissioning Board Authority will publish its recommendations for clinical networks in the new commissioning system shortly.
	In May 2011, we announced that cancer networks would continue to be funded in 2012-13 and that the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) will support strengthened cancer networks. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will be required to obtain appropriate, multi-professional advice to support their commissioning decisions. The NHS CB will have a duty to publish commissioning guidance, some of which may be statutory, and to which CCGs must have regard. In addition, CCGs will work with local authorities to develop a comprehensive analysis of health and social care needs in each local area, and to translate these into action through the joint health and wellbeing strategy and their own commissioning plans. CCGs will have a range of resources from which to seek advice, of which clinical networks will be one.

Cancer: Drugs

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding was (a) allocated to and (b) spent by the Cancer Drugs Fund in 2011-12.

Simon Burns: £200 million was available for the Cancer Drugs Fund in 2011-12. This comprised £140 million allocated to the national health service and a further £60 million made available for strategic health authorities to draw down as needed.
	Expenditure figures for 2011-12, based on the final accounts, are expected to be available in mid-late June.

Care Homes

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what dates each care home was inspected by the Care Quality Commission in each of the last two years.

Paul Burstow: The information requested has been supplied by the Care Quality Commission and has been placed in the Library.

Care Homes

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people were in receipt of free residential care on the most recent date for which figures are available;
	(2)  if he will estimate the level of the means test capital limit for those requiring residential care if it had been increased in line with inflation since 2010;
	(3)  whether his Department has undertaken an impact assessment in respect of its decision not to increase the means test capital limit for those requiring residential care since 2010;
	(4)  how many people were paying for all of their residential care on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: Unless they are in receipt of NHS Continuing Healthcare, which is fully funded by the national health service, all care home residents contribute towards the cost of their care.
	People with more than £23,250 in capital pay the full cost of personal care. People with less than £23,250 in capital can ask their local authority for assistance with the cost of personal care. In both cases, if individuals are assessed as eligible for NHS funded nursing care, primary care trusts have a responsibility to pay a flat rate contribution towards registered nursing care costs.
	We are informed by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care that, at the end of the third quarter of 2011-12, the latest published data, the number of people eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare was 54,833. Continuing Healthcare can be provided in a variety of settings, including care or nursing homes and in the community. Information on the care setting of individuals in receipt of NHS Continuing Healthcare is not collected.
	Had the capital limits been uprated in line with general inflation, we estimate that, assuming the normal rounding process:
	the lower limit would be £15,000 now, rather than £14,250, as set in 2010; and
	the upper limit would be £24,500 now, rather than £23,250, as set in 2010.
	The decision in the Spending Review 2010 not to increase capital limits was taken in order to help local authorities, at a time of financial stringency, to maintain the level of services they provide. The Spending Review 2010 covers government spending up to April 2015. However, the capital limits are being kept under review in order to monitor the impact of not increasing them.
	The Department undertook an equality impact assessment in respect of the decision not to increase the capital limits for those requiring residential care in 2011. A copy of the equality impact assessment has been placed in the Library.
	Information on the numbers of people funding their own residential care costs is not collected centrally.

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what (a) grants and (b) contracts his Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who were previously employed in any capacity by (i) the Conservative party or its elected representatives and (ii) the Liberal Democrat party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(2)  what (a) grants and (b) contracts his Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who previously held an elected position as a member of the (i) Conservative party and (ii) Liberal Democrat party since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(3)  which individuals have been paid by his Department for consultancy or other services who were previously employed in any capacity by the (a) Conservative party or its elected representatives and (b) Liberal Democrat party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised;
	(4)  which individuals have been paid by his Department for consultancy or other services who previously held an elected position as a member of the (a) Conservative Party and (b) Liberal Democrat Party since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised.

Simon Burns: The Department does not hold central records about which individuals run companies or organisations when contract or grant funding is awarded and is unable to provide information about which, if any, contracts or grants have been awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who were previously employed by, or held an elected position as a member of, the Conservative party or the Liberal Democrat party.
	The Department's procurement policy sets out that when the Department awards contract funding, it seeks information about the organisation's capacity and capability to successfully deliver the activities being procured and about the delivery proposals. Information about the identities of individuals who run organisations tendering for the Department's contacts is not routinely sought.
	The Department awards contracts for consultancy services and does not hold central records about the individual consultants used by a consultancy to deliver consultancy engagements or about individual workers used by suppliers of other services and is unable to provide information about individual consultants who were previously employed by, or held an elected position as a member of, the Conservative party or the Liberal Democrat party.

Government Contracts: Political Affiliation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the (a) job title and (b) pay band was of each official, excluding special advisers, recruited by his Department since May 2010 who was previously employed in any capacity by the (i) Conservative party or its elected representatives and (ii) Liberal Democrat party or its elected representatives; and whether their position was advertised publicly;
	(2)  what the (a) job title and (b) pay band was of each official, excluding special advisers, recruited by his Department since May 2010 who previously held an elected position as a member of the (i) Conservative party and (ii) Liberal Democrat party; and whether their position was advertised publicly.

Simon Burns: As part of the pre-employment checks process, the Department requires new entrants to complete and return a character inquiry form that includes a section asking if the individual (or a close relative) has any interest that might be in conflict with the post for which they have applied, including involvement in other organisations.
	Any individuals who declare any interest on the character inquiry form are then asked to report it fully and promptly using the Department's Declarations of Interest and Hospitality Database, in line with the requirements set out in the Department's Code of Business Conduct.
	Since May 2010, the Department has recruited 11 people from outside the civil service. None identified a potential conflict of interest in the character inquiry form that they completed.

Consultants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on external consultants, including management consultants, in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The total expenditure on all consultancy services by the Department, including Connecting for Health, for the financial year 2010-11 is set out in the following table; validated full-year expenditure on consultancy services for 2011-12 is not yet available. The figures are based on the definition of consultancy services provided by the Government Procurement Service (formerly the Office of Government Commerce).
	
		
			 2010-11 
			  £ million 
			 Core Department 9.8 
			 Connecting For Health 5.0 
		
	
	Total expenditure on all consultancy services by the core Department and Connecting for Health for financial year 2009-10 was £115 million.

Cystic Fibrosis: Drugs

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements he has made for the appraisal of ivacaftor for the treatment of cystic fibrosis; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: We have no plans to ask the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to develop guidance on the use of ivacaftor for the treatment of cystic fibrosis.

Diabetes

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much funding his Department allocated to beta cell research in relation to diabetes in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how much funding he allocated to research into type 1 diabetes in the latest period for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: Expenditure by the Department through research programmes, research centres and units, and research training awards on research on type 1 diabetes and on beta cell research in relation to diabetes is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 2011-12 
			  £ million 
			 Type 1 diabetes 1.8 
			 Beta cell research 0.2 
		
	
	The Department's total spend on research on type 1 diabetes and on beta cell research in relation to diabetes is higher than the figures shown because expenditure by the National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network (CRN) on these topics cannot be disaggregated from total CRN expenditure.

Diabetes

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on research into diabetes in the latest period for which figures are available; and what information his Department holds on comparable spending in other European countries.

Simon Burns: Expenditure by the Department in 2011-12 on diabetes research was £28.1 million.
	The Department does not hold information on comparable spending in other European countries.

Diseases

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to respond to the consultation on the UK plan for rare diseases.

Simon Burns: The consultation on the UK Plan for Rare Diseases will end on 25 May 2012. The consultation document and the responses received through the consultation will be used to inform the final UK Plan for Rare Diseases. A summary of consultation responses will be published in due course, and the final UK Plan for Rare Diseases will be published by the end of 2013 as required by the EC Recommendation on Rare Diseases (2009/C 151/02).

Hospitality

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his private ministerial office has spent on (a) tea and coffee, (b) wine, (c) alcoholic refreshments other than wine and (d) bottled water in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: The data requested are not collected at the level of detail requested. Figures taken from the Department's Business Management System categorised as spend on catering or hospitality show that £889.16 was spent in the 12 months between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2012 by the Secretary of State's private office. This compares with £1,187.63 in 2010-11 and £2,393.62 in 2009-10. The figures for 2010-11 and 2011-12 do not include money spent on alcohol, as ministerial private offices are forbidden from spending departmental money on this.

Eyesight

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to provide NHS funding for the diagnosis and prescription of special lens glasses for people with Meares Irlen syndrome.

Simon Burns: Where a child experiences symptoms associated with descriptions of Meares Irlen syndrome the child's parents or carer should discuss the problem with their school and consult an ophthalmic practitioner to ensure that they do not overlook the possibility of refractive error or eye disease underlying the difficulties. If, after a sight test (and supply of glasses if necessary), a child is still experiencing difficulties then we believe a wider assessment is called for.
	The best interests of children are likely to be served by a scheme of assessment and treatment, provided in agreement between local health and education services, which takes into account the full range of possible ways of helping children with the symptoms associated with descriptions of Meares Irlen syndrome.
	It is not for the Department to prescribe specific interventions and we look to the national health service locally, in light of their assessment of evidence, and on this occasion in partnership with education authorities, to determine how best to meet identified needs of children in their areas.

Gifts and Endowments

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 26 March 2012, Official Report, column 988W, on gifts and endowments, for what reasons his Department received a Japanese kimono as a gift; and who gave the gift.

Simon Burns: A Japanese delegation visited Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in September 2010. The delegation comprised 12 Japanese pharmacists or individuals from the pharmaceutical industry, plus an interpreter. The purpose of the visit was to view the three areas where Global Standards One (GS1) processes were in use in the hospital's pharmacy department.
	The gift was given by way of appreciation of the time spent with the delegation, with the gift being offered to the recipient, an NHS staff member, as she had had a lead role in explaining how GS1 barcodes were used.

Cystic Fibrosis

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of the implementation of the provisions of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 on specialist cystic fibrosis services.

Simon Burns: As part of the implementation of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, responsibility for commissioning services for people with rare conditions will transfer to the NHS Commissioning Board. Decisions on which services will be commissioned nationally, taking account of the four factors listed in section 15 of the Act and of the current Specialised Services National Definitions Set, will be announced in due course.

Health Services

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the Mid-Essex Primary Care Trust and (b) North East Essex Primary Care Trust to be abolished.

Simon Burns: The Government has stated its intention that primary care trusts (PCTs), including Mid-Essex PCT and North East Essex PCT, will be abolished in April 2013.

Health Services: Overseas Visitors

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to prevent foreign tourists from obtaining access to NHS primary care services.

Simon Burns: The Department is currently undertaking a review about the continuing entitlement of foreign nationals to access free national health service services. Once completed any proposals to change existing entitlements and access by foreign nationals to NHS primary care services will be the subject of a public consultation on the options available.

Hospital Beds

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital beds run or owned by North West London Hospitals NHS Trust there were at (a) Central Middlesex Hospital, (b) Northwick Park Hospital and (c) other hospitals in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The information is not available in the format requested.
	Bed availability is collected from NHS providers at organisation level. The following table provides data for North West London Hospitals NHS Trust.
	
		
			 Average daily number of available beds, North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 
			 Quarter ended Overnight Day only 
			 December 2011 732 93 
			 September 2011 719 95 
			 June 2011 720 90 
			 March 2011 738 96 
			 December 2010 725 95 
			 September 2010 708 97 
			 June 2010 714 92 
			 Note: NHS providers submit the KH03 return at organisation level and not site level. Source: Department of Health KH03.

Hospitals: Greater London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints about (a) poor food, (b) lack of nurses and (c) long waits for surgery from GPs and patients there were at (i) Northwick Park Hospital, (ii) Hillingdon Hospital and (iii) St Mary's Paddington in (A) 2010-11 and (B) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: This information is not centrally held. The hon. Member may wish to contact the individual national health service trusts responsible for the specified hospitals for this information.

Lobbying

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with which five lobbying companies he has had the highest number of meetings since May 2010; and how many meetings he had with representatives of each company.

Simon Burns: Details of all ministerial meetings with external stakeholders are published quarterly in arrears on the Department's website at:
	http://transparency.dh.gov.uk/category/transparency/ministerial-gifts-hospitality/

Malnutrition

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in each age group were admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of malnutrition in each of the last five years.

Anne Milton: The following table shows a count of finished admission episodes(1) where a patient had a primary diagnosis(2) of malnutrition in each age band, in each year between 2006-07 and 2010-11.
	
		
			 Activity in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			 Age groups 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 2006-07 
			 0 to 9 20 25 18 25 19 
			 10 to 19 32 20 12 10 14 
			 20 to 29 25 20 18 16 14 
			 30 to 39 31 31 21 28 25 
			 40 to 49 64 70 36 56 39 
			 50 to 59 92 66 53 66 61 
			 60 to 69 99 77 76 54 58 
			 70 to 79 74 70 60 63 51 
			 80 to 89 73 67 61 57 59 
			 90 and over 20 14 20 16 21 
			 Unknown age 1 5 3 — 1 
			 Total 531 465 378 391 362 
			 Notes: 1. Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 2. Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. Malnutrition is classified between the ICD-10 codes E40 and E46, and O25 E40 Kwashiorkor E41 Nutritional marasmus E42 Marasmic kwashiorkor E43 Unspecified severe protein-energy malnutrition E44 Protein-energy malnutrition of moderate and mild degree E45 Retarded development following protein-energy malnutrition E46 Unspecified protein-energy malnutrition Also: O25 Malnutrition in pregnancy 3. Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. 4. Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies; While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency

Simon Reevell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many discussions the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has had with legal professionals from the European Court of Justice on the Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicines in each of the last six months; and when each such discussion took place;
	(2)  which stakeholders the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has (a) consulted and (b) plans to consult during its revision of the MHRA Guidance Note 8, A guide to what is a medicinal product;
	(3)  what discussions Ministers in his Department have had with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on revisions to MHRA Guidance Note 8, A guide to what is a medicinal product; and when he expects such revisions to be completed.

Simon Burns: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has not had any discussion with legal professionals from the European Court of Justice on the directive on traditional herbal medicinal products. The MHRA is consulting the following industry trade associations over revisions to Guidance Note 8(GN8) ‘A guide to what is a medicinal product’ (GN8): the Advertising Standards Authority Ltd, the Aromatherapy Trades Council, the British Herbal Medicines Association, the British Specialist Nutrition Association, Clearcast Ltd, the Cosmetics, Toiletry and Perfumery Association Ltd, the Council for Responsible Nutrition, the Health Food Manufacturers' Association and the Proprietary Association of Great Britain.
	No ministerial discussions have taken place about GN8.
	MHRA hopes to publish the revised document in summer 2012 but this is dependent on the comments it receives.

Mental Illness: Veterans

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated number is of former soldiers in the community with (a) post-traumatic stress disorder, (b) complex post-traumatic stress disorder and (c) acute stress.

Simon Burns: Data provided by the Academic Centre for Defence Mental Health, King's College London suggest that 4% of armed forces not deployed report symptoms of probable post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 4% of those deployed report symptoms of probable PTSD (being deployed itself is not associated with PTSD among regulars). This reflects the level of PTSD within the wider population as a whole. Based on current evidence, 7% of those who deploy in a combat role are likely to report symptoms of PTSD at some point post-deployment. Information is not currently available on the number of former armed forces personnel suffering from complex PTSD and/or acute stress.

Multiple Sclerosis

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 16 April 2012, Official Report, column 127W, on multiple sclerosis, what method his Department uses to collect data on prevalence of and mortality from multiple sclerosis.

Paul Burstow: The Department does not collect data on the prevalence of multiple sclerosis, or the number of deaths associated with it.

NHS Commissioning Board

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether he plans to consult on the arrangements for specialised commissioning within the NHS Commissioning Board;
	(2)  what role he expects the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services to have in the NHS Commissioning Board;
	(3)  when he expects the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services to accept new applications for national commissioning.

Simon Burns: Ministers will determine what services should be directly commissioned by the NHS Commissioning Board on the basis of advice and will consult the board on those services before making regulations. It will be a matter for the board to determine how best to commission specialised services for people with rare or very rare conditions when responsibility for directly commissioning them transfers to the board from 1 April 2013.
	Since 2010 the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services (AGNSS) has undertaken a significant role in providing Ministers with advice on those specialised services which should be commissioned nationally. We are currently considering its future role in the light of the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Until its role is determined the moratorium on new service applications suggested by AGNSS will remain in place.

NHS Walk-in Centres

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people visited an NHS walk-in centre in each year since 2004-05.

Simon Burns: Since 2004-05, data on the numbers of visits to NHS walk-in centres have been collected on a quarterly basis. Annual figures are set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Accident and Emergency (A&E) attendances 
			  Type 4 Departments—NHS Walk-in Centres 
			 2004-05 2,031,430 
			 2005-06 2,509,957 
			 2006-07 2,372,992 
			 2007-08 2,392,365 
			 2008-09 2,514,690 
			 2009-10 2,699,798 
			 2010-11 2,486,793 
			 Note: Includes figures from NHS run walk-in centres. Excludes independent sector run centres and other type 3 units such as minor injuries units Source: Department of Health—Quarterly Monitoring of A&E

Orphan Drugs

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what national decision-making process is in operation for the appraisal of orphan and ultra-orphan medicines; and whether commissioning arrangements for these medicines require ministerial approval.

Simon Burns: The great majority of new drugs and significant licence extensions are considered through the topic selection process for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE'S) technology appraisal programme. NICE has appraised a number of drugs which have an orphan designation, either in Europe or the United States of America. NICE develops its appraisal guidance independently and it is not subject to ministerial approval. National health service organisations are required to make funding available for drugs recommended in NICE technology appraisals within three months of the publication of final NICE guidance.
	If NICE considers that by undertaking an appraisal it would not be able to add value, then for high cost, low volume drugs for very rare conditions NICE can send the technology to the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services (AGNSS) for assessment for possible inclusion in the arrangements for national specialised commissioning. AGNSS will provide advice to Ministers on whether a particular drug therapy should be included in these national arrangements and Ministers will then make a decision.
	The requirements for entry into the AGNSS arrangements are set out in the statement of scope and the decision-making framework which are available on the specialised services website at:
	www.specialisedservices.nhs.uk/info/new-technologies

Publications: Stationery

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his private office spent on (a) newspapers, periodicals and trade profession publications and (b) stationery in the last 12 months.

Simon Burns: Newspapers, periodicals and trade journals are an important source of information to Ministers and their teams. According to our records, the cost of providing these items to all five Ministers was £5,712.42 in 2011-12. This compares with £6,315.33 in 2010-11.
	Records show that spend on stationery by all five ministerial offices was £4,491.00 in 2011-12, compared with £7,561.00 in 2010-11.
	The Department is under instructions to keep such expenditure to a minimum and costs are reducing accordingly.

Redundancy

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each non-departmental body for which he is responsible spent on redundancies in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

Simon Burns: The following table shows those non-departmental public bodies that have made redundancy payments in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
	
		
			 Total spent on redundancies 
			 £ 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Appointments Commission 0 417,095 25,814 
			 Care Quality Commission 6,829,000 9,181,000 (1)1,430,013 
			 General Social Care Council 190,568 36,325 0 
			 Health Protection Agency 323,000 749,000 (1)839,000 
			 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority 0 0 216,000 
			 (1)2011-12 annual accounts are currently being audited so have not yet been publicly released nor confirmed.

Risk Assessment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what strategic or transitional risk registers in each area of policy are held by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The Department maintains a department-wide risk register, which sets out the most serious risks and is used to ensure that they are being identified and that actions are under way to mitigate them. This strategic register is compiled from information supplied by individual project teams who maintain their own risk registers as part of their programme management arrangements. The transition risk register is compiled in a similar way.
	Information on risk is published in line with the Department's publication scheme. Detailed information on the risks associated with specific policy areas is routinely published as part of the consultation process, usually within the impact assessment.

Sick Leave

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS staff took more than (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 30 days of sick leave in the latest year for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: This information is not publicly available in the format requested at a national level.
	The resource required to establish, test and run the necessary code to interrogate the data warehouse to obtain these figures would put incur disproportionate cost.
	For further information, the latest quarterly data on sickness absence were published on 19 April and are available at the following link:
	http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/workforce/sickness-absence

Telephone Services

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many call centres provide services for his Department and the bodies for which he is responsible; and how many such call centres are based abroad.

Simon Burns: The following table shows the principal direct contact centres for the Department, its arm’s length bodies and Department bodies.
	
		
			 Public body Number of call centres The number of call centres based abroad 
			 Care Quality Commission 1 0 
			 General Social Care Council 1 0 
			 Health and Social Care Information Centre 1 0 
			 Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency 8 0 
		
	
	
		
			 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence 1 0 
			 NHS Blood and Transplant 3 0 
			 NHS Business Services Authority 1 0 
			 NHS Direct 30 0 
			 NHS 111 12 0 
			 NHS Shared Business Services 3 2 
			 NHS Professionals 1 0 
			 Total 62 2 
			 Note: NHS Direct call centres provide services for both 111 and 0845 calls. 
		
	
	In addition the Department funds, or contributes towards costs, for a number of specific services which may include telephone contact centres. To identify them would involve a substantial and widespread trawl of these services which would incur disproportionate cost.

Thalidomide Trust

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with Ministers in the devolved administrations on the payment of grants to the Thalidomide Trust;
	(2)  when he expects to announce his plans for funding to the Thalidomide Trust after April 2013;
	(3)  what assessment his Department has made of the cost-effectiveness of funding it has provided to the Thalidomide Trust since January 2010.

Paul Burstow: Departmental officials have been in regular contact with officials from the devolved Administrations and will continue to work closely with them on this issue.
	The Thalidomide Grant is a three-year pilot, running from April 2010 until March 2013, to explore how the health needs of Thalidomide survivors can best be met in the longer term and how such a scheme might be applied to other small groups of geographically dispersed patients with specialised needs.
	Officials met with members of the National Advisory Council to the Thalidomide Trust in June 2010, to discuss their evaluation of the first year. The Government expects to receive the evaluation of the second year of the pilot study shortly, and will look to meet with the National Advisory Council to discuss that report. We will consider the future of the grant further into the pilot.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many trade union representatives in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies had (i) part-time and (ii) full-time paid facility time arrangements in 2011-12.

Simon Burns: The Department and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency grant facility time to a small number of their staff, elected by the union members, who are dedicated ‘full-time’ to trade union duties. These amount to 3.4 whole-time equivalent staff employed as trade union officials in 2011-12. Of these 3.4 whole-time equivalents, 2.8 whole-time equivalents are elected by the Public and Commercial Service Union and the remainder by Prospect. All are ‘full-time’ (ie 100% of their time is dedicated to union duties). A further 1.8 whole-time equivalent staff, also elected by union members, work as the departmental Trade Union Side office.
	Other union officials are covered by the Department's facility time agreement and are not full-time. As the time spent on industrial relations is minimal (less than 5% of their time), their salary costs are met by local directorates. It is not, therefore, possible to make an estimate of the cost of these activities and to collect this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	The response for the Department's non-departmental public bodies is summarised in the following table:
	
		
			 Organisation How many trade uni on representatives had (i) part- time paid facility time arrangements in 2011-12? How many trade uni on representatives had (ii) full- time paid facility time arrangements in 2011-12? 
			 Care Quality Commission 27 1 
			 General Social Care Council 5 0 
		
	
	The Government are soon to start consulting civil service trades unions about current facility time practices.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies in 2011-12; and at what cost to the public purse.

Simon Burns: The Department and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) grant facility time to a small number of their staff, elected by trade union members, whose work time is fully allocated to trade union duties. Information about the number of days used is not held. A total of 5.2 whole time equivalent staff worked as trade union officials in 2011-12. The total cost to the public purse of paid facility time for these staff in the Department and MHRA was £283,120 in 2011-12.
	Other union officials are covered by the Department's facility time agreement and are not full-time. As the time spent on industrial relations is minimal (less than 5% of their work time), their salary costs are met by local directorates. It is not, therefore, possible to make an estimate of the cost of these activities and to collect this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	The response for the Department's non-departmental public bodies is summarised in the following table:
	
		
			 Organisation Total number of days utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative in 2011-12 Cost to the public purse (£) 
			 Care Quality Commission 773.5 112,364 
			 General Social Care Council (1)3 (2)0 
			 (1) Six half-day bi-monthly partnership meetings (2) No additional cost to salary. 
		
	
	The Government are soon to start consulting civil service trades unions about current facility time practices.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies for trade union (i) duties and (ii) activities in 2011-12.

Simon Burns: The Department and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency grant facility time to a small number of elected individuals who are dedicated ‘full-time’ to trade union duties. These are Department of Health staff. 3.4 whole time equivalent staff were employed to work as trade union officials in 2011-12.
	All other trade union representatives are covered by the Department's facility time agreement and are not full-time. Information about the actual number of days used is not held and to collect that information would incur disproportionate cost.
	The facility time agreement provides for up to 15 days paid time for accredited representatives and up to a further 10 days for those elected to or accredited by national union bodies such as Group and National Executive Committees.
	The Government are soon to start consulting civil service trades unions about current facility time practices.
	The responses from the Department's non-departmental public bodies are summarised in the following table:
	
		
			 Organisation How many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative for trade union duties in 2011-12? How many days were utilised for paid facility time by each trade union representative for trade union activities in 2011-12? 
			 Care Quality Commission (1)773.5 
			 General Social Care Council (2)3 3 
			 (1) Our records do not differentiate between facility time days for TU duties and TU activities. This includes one full-time individual. (2) Six half-day bi-monthly partnership meetings.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library copies of the facility time agreements between trade unions and (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies.

Simon Burns: The Department's facility time agreement has now been placed in the Library. This agreement, between the management and the trade union side of the Department, sets out the principles which govern the facilities the Department makes available to employees who are accredited representatives or members of the three recognised unions (PCS, Prospect and FDA). The Department's Partnership Agreement has also been placed in the Library. This sets out how unions and management commit themselves to work together to ensure that the Department, its employees and clients receive the best support and service possible.
	Three of the Department's non-departmental public bodies also have such agreements (Care Quality Commission, General Social Care Council and Health Protection Agency) and these have been placed in the Library.
	The remaining six non-departmental public bodies are non-unionised and therefore do not have such documents.
	The Care Quality Commission are in the process of revising their recognition and facilities time agreement. However, it does not increase the amount of facilities time provided or the circumstances under which it will be provided.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many trade unions representatives in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental bodies have faced disciplinary action for abusing paid facility time or public resources in each of the last five years.

Simon Burns: No trade unions representatives of the Department, its agencies, or its non-departmental bodies have faced disciplinary action for abusing paid facility time or public resources in each of the last five years.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions trade union representatives from (a) his Department and (b) each of the non-departmental public bodies have utilised paid facility time to represent an employee at a meeting or other industrial relations matter in each of the last five years.

Simon Burns: For the Department and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency the information requested about the representation of employees by trade union representatives is not held. To establish that information would incur disproportionate cost.
	Only two of the Department's non-departmental public bodies have had trade union representatives utilise paid facility time to represent an employee at a meeting or other industrial relations matter in each of the last five years. These are shown in the following tables:
	
		
			 Care Quality Commission (CQC) 
			 Year How many occasions have trade union representatives utilised paid facility time to represent an employee at a meeting or other industrial relations matters for each of the following years ? 
			 2007-08 CQC started 1 April 2009—no data available for predecessor organisations 
			 2008-09 CQC started 1 April 2009—no data available for predecessor organisations 
		
	
	
		
			 2009-10 This information was not captured centrally 
			 2010-11 This information was not captured centrally 
			 2011-12 11 
			 Note: The figure supplied for 2011-12 refers specifically to formal meetings with trade union representation. 
		
	
	
		
			 General Social Care Council 
			 Year How many occasions have trade union representatives utilised paid facility time to represent an employee at a meeting or other industrial relations matters for each of the following years? 
			 2007-08 0 
			 2008-09 0 
			 2009-10 0 
			 2010-11 1 
			 2011-12 0 
		
	
	The Government are soon to start consulting Civil Service trades unions about current facility time practices.